Writing Journal Assignment #1

Kaitlin Chupka
Eng1050 – 20
Writing Journal Assignment #1

I have many times fallen in to the trap Stephen Colbert calls "wikiality." I agree with Monica Hesse 100% when she notes that Wikipedia is often the first hit on any Google search one makes. Although I can not agree with student Hillary Swaim declares "she'll spend about five minutes tracking down an answer before giving up", I can identify with her. Living in the world of blackberries and high speed internet, impatience has grown to where waiting 10 seconds is an eternity. Therefore, when discussing a topic with friends and trying to decide who the first person to win a million dollars on "Deal or No Deal?" was, my first instinct is to type Wikipedias' web address into my browser and begin my search. It is for items like this that I don't feel Wikipedia is a bad source. I'm not researching this topic for a class, so just about any answer will end the dispute. When researching for a paper or assignment I will sometimes use wikipedia, but purely as a starting point. Looking for key terms and other websites cited under this topic on Wikipedia can often be helpful in continuing research at a more "scholarly" level. While many people criticize Wikipedia for providing false information, one could find the same false information on probably ten or more other websites. I think that using the internet in a positive and educational way is something teachers who are concerned about source material should touch on. Many students went through highschool using two main websites: Sparknotes and Wikipedia. So when getting to college, a library looks like a labrynth and students would rather just stick to what they know, unless they are taught otherwise. "Collateral misinformation" is an interesting term that I had never heard of. It makes me wonder how often I have been a victim of such happenings and how many false things I have cited. Hopefully, though, enough research dipicting true facts is available. When being asked to conduct research to complete a paper or assignment, the first thing I do is groan. Especially when some of the research is to be conducted in a print source. But considering this idea of "collateral misinformation," print sources may be a students best option. Yes, it requires getting off your futon and walking to the library, and unfortunately one downfall of conducting this type of research is that it takes time, but many print sources are not open to the public to change. Theoretically, one could decide to offer their own opinions in a print source just as they do on the internet, true or false, but then again, if we don't have time to do print research, who has the time to write an entire book?