If you think that the Internet is spared from myths and legends, then think again. While it might be the most popular medium wherein these ridiculous pieces of information are relayed, the World Wide Web is also the subject of a couple of absurd myths as well. And what is more disturbing is the fact that these myths sound so convincing that sometimes we don’t hesitate to believe them. For the purpose of separating fact from fiction, and for a bit of reminiscing, here are some of the most popular myths about the Internet:
Myth No. 1: Al Gore Invented the Internet.
During the start of his failed 2000 presidential election bid, he was interviewed by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer where he was asked what he has to offer the country to which he replied that he had took part of creating the Internet back when he was serving in the United States Congress. And while he never really said that he “invented the Internet”, his awkward phrasing if not exaggeration made him the butt of late night show jokes. But in all fairness to Mr. Gore, he did come up with the phrase “information superhighway”.
Myth No. 2: Your Internet Service Provider is Spying on You.
Serving as the bridge between you and the world computer network, your internet service provider, or ISP as we lovingly call them, is tracking everything that you are doing online and is keeping tabs of all the information you are downloading and uploading online. If you believed this controversy in the past, we’re very sorry to have to break to you that all of that was a hoax. Not only will your ISP be hammered with complaints by individuals who take privacy rights seriously but storing all of the information their users have access to online is going to be too costly for them.
Myth No. 3: The Internet Spews Out Nothing but the Truth.
Obviously, this myth is wrong on so many levels. However, the most atrocious thing about this myth is the fact that so many users do believe that nothing they find in the Internet is false. That’s the reason for why hackers have made a killing on conning people online because the number of gullible individuals who are just waiting to be duped are incredible. While abstaining from using the Internet is a tad too radical, experts are suggesting that users adopt a behavior of “healthy scepticism” when looking for things online.
