There’s no denying that our lives are becoming digital. Technology, and subsequently the internet, has become so deeply ingrained in our day to day lives, changing everything from how we eat to how we keep ourselves occupied. Of course, plagiarism is no exception. The question is, however, is it getting better or worse? Here, we’re investigating just what technology has meant for plagiarism.
Checking For Plagiarism Is Easier Than Ever
If there’s one thing for certain, it’s that checking work for plagiarism is easier than ever before. No longer do we have to scour the internet for snippets of text and hope for the best – an online plagiarism checker will do all of that work for you. Scanning thousands upon thousands of sites with hundreds and hundreds of words on each, there has never been such a thorough way to check for copied work. This ease in detection has come to stop what could’ve been an otherwise unstoppable rise in plagiarism cases.
… But So Is Plagiarising
Technology has proven to be a two-way street when it comes to plagiarism. While it makes it much easier to detect when someone has plagiarised, it unfortunately has made it easier to plagiarise. With an incredible volume of information at our fingertips with just a search, copying and pasting information across without citing the source, or ‘paraphrasing’ without fully rewriting information in your own words is much simpler and much faster. In short, plagiarism is becoming less of an issue of writing quality, and instead an issue of pure laziness or bad time management leading to last-minute submissions.
Social Media Is A Plagiarism Breeding Ground
Social media has had a massive impact on people’s lives across the globe, but it has also counted for around a third of all plagiarised content. With content being posted each and every day across the web by those who might not realise that they’re committing plagiarism by copying someone else’s post, keeping on top of plagiarism on social media could prove to be difficult. Even with plagiarism detectors, it’s unlikely that regular posters will check each and every status they post before it goes live. As a result, social media has quickly become a breeding ground for plagiarism that’s nearly impossible to control.
Citation Standards Have Changed
Citation standards of course underwent a big change when digital content came to fruition, but now more than ever, writers are facing new challenges. New types of writing have led to brand new citation styles and so students, for example, need to look beyond simply ‘Harvard referencing’ or the version their institution uses, and master a whole host of different styles to cater for these. The future could see this becoming even more of an issue, and so the argument is this: Should we completely rewrite citation standards? It’s a topic up for debate.
It’s Become Much More Widely Known
Plagiarism as a concept was first introduced in the late 15th century, or so historians seem to think. The true, definite source of the term isn’t known, but what is known is that plagiarism is far more of a widely known issue today than it has been before. More and more people are becoming aware of the rules and regulations surrounding plagiarism and just what the consequences could be if they aren’t adhered to, especially where schooling and business is concerned.
While the issue of plagiarism may have expanded with the growth of the internet, it’s safe to say that it’s also been provided with more solutions than ever before. From plagiarism detectors, to increased awareness of the issue as a whole, we have a lot to thank the internet for regardless.
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