• The government going after dark websites is not the best solution to eliminate buying illicit materials online

• The dark web provides an open environment for buying and selling illicit drugs

• The use of Tor Browser is not as easy as many people may think

The Tor browser or Deep Web is a clandestine web that gives access to vendors and buyers to trade illicit materials online without having to make physical contact.  While it eliminates direct and physical contact and provides security protection between buyers and sellers of illicit materials, it is not easy to access this website. It requires technical-know-how to access it.

Here are six things I learned from a talk on Deep Web held at Carnegie Mellon University by Prof. Nicolas Christin on Jan. 19, 2020.

1. Online is the new black market

“A deep dive in the deep web” became prominent in the early 2000s. Previously, if you wanted to buy illicit materials, you usually go through a friend who knew a friend, however, that has changed with the coming into being of online buying and selling, said Nicolas Christin a lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University. On the issues that influence his decision to explore the dark web was based on a purely emotional statement. “The world is coming to an end because people are selling drugs online, and I’m a scientist. I don’t like to be presented with emotional content,” he said. 

2. The government should chase the seller, not the product 

The original strategy for law enforcement officers was to try to take down marketplaces but that has changed. “It does not work because a marketplace is a natural Web site and a database that’s very easy for a technically inclined person to set that up in a couple of hours,” he added. Instead what is most effective in combating these illegal online selling, is to go after vendors, “it’s a lot harder to replace if you are a big drug kingpin who has access to lots of physical products and you end up in prison, it’s going to take time for somebody else to replace,” Christin said.

3. What students currently know about the Tor browser 

Before the presentation, myself and many students, were not knowledgeable about the dark web. “I don’t even know how to access these services and this guy scroll the whole web looking for this Web site makes it very interesting, so, it was interesting to see a breakdown of some of the dark Web sites,” said Muhammad Nurul Haque a senior at CMU-Q. In an attempt to learn about the dark web, I download the Tor Browser with the help of VPN. First, you need to quit all your internet apps and type “tor browser”. Once you instal tor browser, cover your laptop’s camera for security reason. What I learned, there are many stages and some of them require payment to get access. The more you delve into the dark web, the more complicated it becomes. 

4. The same economic rule governs both legal and illicit materials in an online platform

Christin said, criminologists and economists have argued for years, the economic rules that apply for selling legal products are the same rule that governs the sales of cannabis and heroin in dark websites. However, what is fascinating to him scientists have a large copy of data that they can work with. “If you want to research in Criminology, if you want to figure out how much drugs are being sold, for instance, in the city of Pittsburgh today, it’s very hard to do because this is a completely hidden commerce, despite being a dark web, it’s completely in the open,” he added.  

5. The best way to protect yourself is to learn as much as you can 

As final advice to students Christin said, in an online adversarial environment, the use of most technologies is not something sinister. But you can also use it to “get all of those trackers, all of those tracking technologies off your back” when you’re browsing online so that the technology is working reasonably well for you instead of working against you, Christin added.  

6. Can we buy illegal products in Qatar? 

       The talk did not discuss cases related to Qatar but you can do your own research as I did, though you should be cautious.

This news package explores the robotics field in Qatar, looking at its impact and significance. The piece addresses, what is the importance of implementing robotics into education, discussing ethical implications, and raising the question of whether robotics are helping Qatar progress or not.

Cyberbullying

Fear of missing out is one main reason why young technology users stay online longer than they need to, which puts them at risk of getting cyberbullied. Students in Education City are not an exception.

When naming the dangers of technology for kids and teenagers, cyberbullying is high on the list. However, young adults are just at risk of encountering cyber bullies and may even struggle to deal with it appropriately. 

Students’ experiences

One such person is Hadeel Al-Kohaji. A 20-year-old student at Virginia Commonwealth University. Cyberbullying is something that Al-Kohaji encounters quite frequently on social media. 

According to Al-Kohaji, it tends to be anonymous and mostly via comments from complete strangers on social media. She would comment on posts “like any person would” and sometimes someone would not approve of her opinion and therefore would attack her with hurtful comments rather than offer constructive criticism or just let her express her own opinion.

“There was actually a time where I ended up arguing with an atheist who’s advocating for the abolition of all religions and refused to listen to perspectives of practicing people,” she said. “That person has since ended up blocking me and several others but that’s mainly out of her own ignorance and refusal to understand different perspectives.”

On some days it is pretty draining for Al-Kohaji. “More than anyone would think,” she said. Especially since it is the only impression of her that they got. “I end up overthinking about it for ages until I faze it out with coping mechanisms.”

While she does do her best to ignore cyber bullies, she lets it slip on certain days, well aware that she would be taking the bully’s bait. “On those days I tend to feel more drained than I usually do so I end up withdrawing and taking a day to myself,” she admitted.

A few years ago, a female student* from Education City learned a valuable lesson from a painful cyberbullying experience. This student walked in on her friend when she was video messaging a strange girl from the U.K. and decided to join her. “You can tell that this girl is the type of person who stays on the computer all day,” she said.

According to the student, her friend casually chatted to the stranger, but what came next shocked her. 

“She is ugly with a capital U,” the stranger said, referring to the student. 

 “It was the first time anyone had ever called me that. I was so shocked and it genuinely hurt me,” she said. This made the student question whether it was actually true.

How they deal with it

Al-Kohaji typically tries not to engage and directly blocks any cyber bullies, especially when the response aggravates her. Still, there are times when Al-Kohaji would cave and try to defend herself from them. “It happens in spurs though so it can go from zero to 100 real quick,” she remarked.

Al-Kohaji mostly deals with her cyberbullying experiences alone. However, there have been times where she sought help from friends when it felt too much to bear alone. “I think it’s vital to reach out to friends about something like this, especially if it happens to someone on a daily basis,” she said.

The female student has since then realized that bullies exist everywhere. “Bullying comes in many forms,” she said.  “It doesn’t just come on the internet. It doesn’t just come on the playground. It can come from your friends. It can come from your family. It can come from anywhere and you don’t even realize it.”    

Advice from a life coach

Being a constant technology user distracts students from the real world says life coach Shaikha Fahad Mohammed. It may potentially cause psychological trauma, she said. However, there are ways to reduce such risks. According to Shaikha, a student must be willing to limit their screen time and use only one way to communicate online. “Most of the time, people online interact without a purpose and that is a problem,” she remarked. 

Cyberbullying is ultimately the result of too much screen time, which has become the primary reason why students procrastinate important tasks, Shaikha said.

*This source requested to remain anonymous. 

When we want to set our reminders we either choose to set them on our phones or have it written down on a planner.As busy students, it’s really important for us to find the perfect method. Sadly, the “perfect method” is nonexistent.In the current world of technology we assume most students rely on digital reminders and this survey proved it . 

It is a rush everyday to get our work done on time, we wake up early for assignments and stay up late to complete them. We scribble notes into out planner to the smallest detail to not forget our work and tick what assignments we completed as we go. Another would type up their assignments and set up alarms to remind them, and wait for each alarm to go off. Assignments are done, then comes the rush of another day of work. 

The traditional method of planning has worked for many years but being in the era of technology the  traditional methods are being challenged.

The emergence and growth of the technology-dependent generation have led to a change in different aspects of life. Life has changed from the way business is conducted in the global market,to  how information is passed and the way people interact. The issue of planning has not been an exemption to changes in technology. the current use of technological gadgets such as smartphones and tablets have changed the way planning is done. Most people have moved from paper planning to digital planning.

 Paper planning is a form of planning whereby an individual writes down the things that should be done and the time that they should be done. Digital planning is a planning method whereby people set reminders in their technological gadgets to remind them of different occurrences in their busy schedules. 

The theory of extended mind comes to light in this digital era. The“extended mind”is the idea that our minds go way beyond our “skull and skin”. It is how our minds are getting tuned and integrated into external elements that “include smartphones, tablets and at least some instances of wearable computing, but, in the end, less attention-grabbing items such as notebooks (the old-fashioned kind), tally sticks and abacuses would, under the right circumstances, do just as well.”(Wheeler 2018).

An online survey by SurveyMonkey was conducted to test the theory of Traditional Planners Vs. Tech Reminders in Education City for students. The students had to answer three questions: what university they are attending, what reminder method they use and why they choose this method. 

A total of 46 students answered this survey and phone reminders was favored with 54% percent, traditional planner 33%, app reminders 9% and 4 % classified under “other” where one said brain and the other said both traditional and phone reminders.

Students have commented about how phone reminders are much more useful because it sends notifications that keeps reminding them rather than planners where you have to physically open the book. Additionally, students have explained that it is also very convenient as their phones are always with them, so they are bound to see the notifications even if the phone was on silent and there is no extra weight with having to carry a planner all day but the other 33% don’t agree. They believe it is easier to remember when you have already noted what needs to be done and some of them like the satisfaction of having to tick the box in the planner when they are complete.

There have been arguments stating that paper planning is a better method compared to digital planning. A research article by Michael Wheeler argues that paper planning is a better method and one of the reasons for these arguments is the fact that paper planning is less distracting. When a person is writing down their schedule on paper, they tend to concentrate on the plan. Michael Wheeler also argues that paper planning is better as people tend to go through the plan during the day.In the case of digital planning, technical gadgets have different applications that have numerous notifications. With the notifications, a person may tend to ignore some of them and maybe pass a planned activity for the day. The gadgets also have social platforms that may act as a distraction in the planning process.

Scholars have managed to prove that the writing of things helps a person remember the things written down. There is also a brain cell that is stimulated by writing that ensures that the brain increases its focus on the planned activity. Lakisha Simmons in her journal article “There’s an app for that: The impact of reminder apps on student learning and anxiety” affirms that physical activity is beneficial in the triggering of the brain to turn the maximum focus on the issue at hand. In such an instance, the brain will work to ensure that it remembers about the planned activity. In the case of digital planning, the planning process involves typing. Typing is associated with the arrangement of letters by the pressing of the keys. That means that the activity uses muscle memory rather than brain power. That could be the reason why a person can type without looking at the screen of the gadget.

Another study conducted for students about the impact of reminder apps on students by Lakisha, S., Amy, C., Colin, C. and Chris, S. (2018) have concluded that, “reminder apps can improve a student’s feelings of organization and time management in a course, and this increase in executive functioning can improve attitudinal and educational outcomes.” Lakisha (2018). Which supports my findings of the online survey conducted for students in Education City.

There is no “correct” method for planning. But we have to find what best suits us as students. We have to find which method will help us complete our assignments on time or even better earlier. Which method reminds us of our assignments in advance either by a notification or by pulling out our planners. We all always have our phones on us so phone reminders are convenient but you might just like the thrill of having to write them down and drawing ticks as you go. 

References

Lakisha, S., Amy, C., Colin, C. and Chris, S. (2018). There’s an app for that: The Impact of        reminder apps on student learning and anxiety. Journal of education for Business, Vol.         93, No. 5 185-195.

Wheeler, M. (2005). Reconstructing the Cognitive World: The Next Step. Cambridge, Mass.:        MIT Press

Wheeler, M. The reappearing tool: transparency, smart technology, and the extended mind. AI & Soc 34, 857–866 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-018-0824-x

Wheeler, M. (2018). Talking about more than Heads: the Embodied, Embedded and Extended Creative Mind.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZY8HHB5