Reading Response #4: Plagerism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age

Reading Response #4: Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age

       This article spoke of many real experiences of plagiarism and the action taken to discipline the students committing the act. There was also an analysis of why plagiarism has become so wide spread in the generation of technology. The author of the article writes in a very passionate voice, almost attacking the younger generation as a whole. He makes an assumption that most people growing up in this generation have either already plagiarized, or will in the future. 

       I found this article to be very interesting. I agree that plagiarism has increased since technology has advanced. However, I don't believe that it is due to the information seeming to be "our work" because we don't have a tangible book or article in our hands with authors clearly printed on them. I believe it's because students have just become lazy. We simply don't think we have time to create our own work, so some of us copy other works. We have a huge problem of procrastination because of all the activities and sports we participate in and trying to juggle that with every other class’s work that must be turned in. There is no excuse for plagiarism, but I see the reasons behind it a little bit differently than the article.

Here is an example from the article showing their ideas on why plagiarism has become so wide-spread and a link to the article itself:

"Ms. Brookover, who works at the campus library, has pondered the differences between researching in the stacks and online. “Because you’re not walking into a library, you’re not physically holding the article, which takes you closer to ‘this doesn’t belong to me,’ ” she said. Online, “everything can belong to you really easily.” -Plagiarism Lines Blur for Students in Digital Age by Trip Gabriel

Article (click here)

       Yes, the information of a article is more easily accessed with computers, but I don't think it changes the way a student sees the ownership of the information. Students know the words aren't theirs. They choose to use them anyway because it saves time. 
Like this picture states: 



Link to site of picture