Karen Osborne
Cheating on the Internet
My cell phone was stolen the other day. I turned my back for five minutes to talk to a friend at a crowded event. When I turned back, it was gone. Somebody had nicked it from right under my nose!
The phone’s absence made me realize how much I rely on technology these days for even the smallest of things.
Teens today are some of the most affected by this reliance: They’re living in a world that will become only more saturated with technology as time passes.
Technology helps us understand our universe, live longer, healthier lives and spend more time in the company of those we love. It makes so many things so very easy.
And that’s both a blessing and a curse.
Here’s a big curse: Cheating and plagiarism are on the rise in schools and colleges, and it’s due in part to technology.
Recently, a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine stated that residency applications to Harvard Teaching Hospital, one of the world’s most sought-after appointments for new doctors and surgeons, contain an alarming amount of plagiarism — residents claiming to have experience they don’t have and copying others’ entrance essays to look better to the admissions committees.
The whole issue is frightening.
Would you want to be treated by a doctor who was lying about his ability to do the job correctly?
Of course not!
Cheating on the Internet these days is easy — and can be tempting to even the most conscientious of students because it’s easy to access and share files and information. On top of that, it can be difficult for Internet users to differentiate between truly original work and something that was just copied and pasted onto a new website.
That’s why it’s so important to know what plagiarism is and how to identify it, especially when tempted by the possibility of better grades.
In the world beyond high school, grades mean nothing if you can’t do the work.
Plagiarism is taking the work or experience of others and calling it your own.
Most great art and science made in the modern world stand on the shoulders of others who came before. However, the work of others should be used only to support the original claims you make in your own papers and never, ever presented as your own work or opinion.
Doing the work isn’t always easy. It is, however, one of the things that will help you reach your goals, regardless of whether you want to play sports, become a doctor, work at a soup kitchen or write symphonies.
God wired your brain to learn about life in a particular way. When you’re learning a new skill, such as geometry, pitching a baseball or writing a research paper, your brain is quite literally making new connections for the electrical impulses that help you get better. But if you plagiarize or copy, you’re cheating yourself out of the opportunity to get better at your dream.
When your teachers ask you to show your work or identify the sources you’re using for class work, they’re helping you make the connections you need to achieve your goals.
Every time you do your own work, the better your brain works. You can’t fake that if you copy your homework from a friend or your term paper from a website.
This is something the plagiarists at Harvard University will inevitably find out when they may not be able to do the job they were hired to do.
There is absolutely no substitute for real experience.
Use today’s fantastic technology correctly — as a tool, not a crutch.