Identity and Ethics
The idea of “self” has been a subject that has been widely talked about on the basics of what it is and when it can be used. Different people see themselves in different ways that the society might shun but the cyberspace welcome so they create a world for themselves that is free of biases. The readings for this session we did are based on identity and ethics on the internet. I read on “Gender-Switching in cyberspace”, “How computer change the way we think”, “The discourse of cyberspace as an object of Knowledge”, “Who is in charge of who I am” and “Virtual Rape”.
This different works explained in dept how people interacting with this “fairytale land” that hold no limit on how the identity of self and ethics conforms.
Being in cyberspace allows the user to be anyone they want to be. Basically, the Internet allows you to put on as many fronts whenever you like and for as long as you like. The Internet creates a setting for anonymity to happen and second, there is no accountability through this type of communication, as read from “Gender-Switching in Cyberspace” it states that “the internet offers the opportunity for people to experiment with their identity”. Whereas in our face to face interactions involve us adjusting our personalities to fit in with the given situation, through daily interactions we act in different ways around different people.
We use different fronts when we act like students, friends, siblings, sons, or daughters. So, when communicating on the Internet, our interaction is merely an extension of what we do in our everyday life. And since society has created a situation where anonymity is the norm, anonymous interaction in cyberspace has become a commonplace phenomenon; people can be themselves or create an entirely new persona. The Internet makes anonymity easy so long as there is no physical manipulation involved. It is a way of testing new boundaries, and seeing how far one will go when no one can ever know about it, you can assume roles that perhaps you only imagined. The benefits of social interaction can be achieved, while still maintaining a sense of privacy. This has made the computer to really change they way we think, we have invented a device which actually is controlling our act to work and not work. The use of typewriter as since been phased out, and our thoughts and consciousness is now been ruled by this mere electronic device. It has now become very easy to send mail, messages, and information without anyone knowing who sent it and without having to account for your actions.
The site that talks more on this topic and others is Giordano, G., Stoner, S., Brouer, R., and George, J. (2007). The influences of deception and computer-mediation on dyadic negotiations. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), article 2.
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2 comments:
I agree with most of what you said, the internet is definitely an evolving marketplace in which one can conduct themselves with a certain amount of anonymity. It indefinitely does provide a place in which a person can play any role their please in a never ending amount of possibilities. I do not however think that "The benefits of social interaction can be achieved, while still maintaining a sense of privacy." Social actions require a person to give up information, it may be false information at times but the "privacy" of that person has been broken. It all depends, in my opinion, as to what kind of benefits that person desires. For certain benefits it might require that a person give up some kind of personal information unwillingly, in this case the benefits outweigh the consequences and the privacy of that person might at that point be violated, not intentionally of course. I think you touched on some areas in which most people can agree but I think that the area of privacy is not a universal value held by all and that it should be dependent on a person by person basis.
I agree that cyberspace allows us to be anonymous with different identities. They way we act in the real life is the same way we act in cyberspace to fit in a particular group or be accepted by a particular person. In cyberspace, privacy is sometimes not protected when social interactions occur because like Ibe stated a person is required to give up information that they feel is personal and my not want to give. This can violate the right to private information. As for electronic devices such as the computer, it would be impossible for us to communicate without it when you most of the time cannot meet face to face. Also, it's a way for us to express our thoughts and feelings when we don't want to express them in person.
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