The ethical issues surrounding mediums like print and television media have been complicated with the onset of the internet. This new form of media has radically changed the presentation of information and therefore has brought a new set of ethical dilemmas. Ethics are standards of behaviour that are ‘right’. In The Good, the Bad and the Virtual, Mark Poster highlights many of the concerns critics shares over the internet; “the new medium will undermine the ethical basis of society”. Poster notes how internet sites are “easy to construct and cheap to maintain”, enabling people to display sites that have ‘disturbing material’. In this ‘age of information’, it raises a number of questions over the ethical systems online and more importantly, do they exist?.
The ethical and moral elements of journalism have been altered online. The internet is a very different medium compared to print media. Print and Television media are usually limited geographically as they are mainly distributed locally (i.e. city, state, country). Certain codes of ethics must be complied to ensure journalists attain and present information in a fair and unbiased way. Although this does not always happen, journalists are held accountable via these forms of media. The internet, on the other hand, is widely accessible. There is also anonymity on the internet as anyone can write news items. Similar ethical issues arise with the presentation of information. Mark Poster referred to a semi-code of ethics which exists on the internet, known as ‘netiquette’. However, he further stated that “the practice of coaching newbies in the ways of netiquette could not keep up”. To see some of the rules, you may want to view this webiste on netiquette. This system of ethics is difficult to maintain on such a large scale and is almost impossible to police. Consequently, there is broad spectrum of views and information presented on the internet, often biased. The anonymity has generated a greater sense of freedom to say what you want, no matter how offensive. Pornography is also more widely accessible on the net. Do you think that the ethical elements behind pornography have changed online? If so, how?
An ethical issue raised online is the distortion of identities. Poster identified a case involving FBI agents who posed as underage girls in chat rooms to catch potential sex-offenders. However, when they caught the perpetrator, he was released based on the argument “that his actions ‘were grounded in an online fantasy world’ and were not reprehensible morally and legally” (Miller 1999). This clearly illustrates how the ethical dimensions radically change online with the separation of worlds into ‘virtual’ and ‘real’. Poster further stated how the justice system “accepted the distinction between real and virtual pedophilia”. Do you think there should be a world wide system of ethics that applies to everyone?
Because characteristics of the internet differ from the traditional forms of media, ethical systems have been thought to be medium-specific. A number of complexities arise from using the internet as the boundaries between the public and private sphere are blurred. Mark Poster notes in his article, that what was previously confined to the private sphere has overflowed into the public via the net. An example of this was a sex change operation which was video recorded and posted on a webcam. This raised a number of ethical issues, including questions regarding censorship on the net. Do you think it was ethical to allow for this operation to be broadcast on the World Wide Web? Do you think ethical systems should be medium-specific?
Thus, the expansion of the internet has given rise to many ethical dilemmas in cyberspace. Do you think ethical systems exist online?
The ethical and moral elements of journalism have been altered online. The internet is a very different medium compared to print media. Print and Television media are usually limited geographically as they are mainly distributed locally (i.e. city, state, country). Certain codes of ethics must be complied to ensure journalists attain and present information in a fair and unbiased way. Although this does not always happen, journalists are held accountable via these forms of media. The internet, on the other hand, is widely accessible. There is also anonymity on the internet as anyone can write news items. Similar ethical issues arise with the presentation of information. Mark Poster referred to a semi-code of ethics which exists on the internet, known as ‘netiquette’. However, he further stated that “the practice of coaching newbies in the ways of netiquette could not keep up”. To see some of the rules, you may want to view this webiste on netiquette. This system of ethics is difficult to maintain on such a large scale and is almost impossible to police. Consequently, there is broad spectrum of views and information presented on the internet, often biased. The anonymity has generated a greater sense of freedom to say what you want, no matter how offensive. Pornography is also more widely accessible on the net. Do you think that the ethical elements behind pornography have changed online? If so, how?
An ethical issue raised online is the distortion of identities. Poster identified a case involving FBI agents who posed as underage girls in chat rooms to catch potential sex-offenders. However, when they caught the perpetrator, he was released based on the argument “that his actions ‘were grounded in an online fantasy world’ and were not reprehensible morally and legally” (Miller 1999). This clearly illustrates how the ethical dimensions radically change online with the separation of worlds into ‘virtual’ and ‘real’. Poster further stated how the justice system “accepted the distinction between real and virtual pedophilia”. Do you think there should be a world wide system of ethics that applies to everyone?
Because characteristics of the internet differ from the traditional forms of media, ethical systems have been thought to be medium-specific. A number of complexities arise from using the internet as the boundaries between the public and private sphere are blurred. Mark Poster notes in his article, that what was previously confined to the private sphere has overflowed into the public via the net. An example of this was a sex change operation which was video recorded and posted on a webcam. This raised a number of ethical issues, including questions regarding censorship on the net. Do you think it was ethical to allow for this operation to be broadcast on the World Wide Web? Do you think ethical systems should be medium-specific?
Thus, the expansion of the internet has given rise to many ethical dilemmas in cyberspace. Do you think ethical systems exist online?
4 comments:
I guess the thing about ethics is that, as the principles that govern behaviour of individuals or groups, they cannot be ‘policed’ in a formal sense, they are not laws! I thought the site you posted on netiquette was quite interesting Elyse – I think it highlights that ethics on the net are a lot about just remembering your off-line manners, and values in on-line interactions. Though there were some great general rules on the site, I don’t know that there can necessarily be a code of ethics that can broadly apply to all interactions on the internet – I think different settings, both ‘virtual’ and ‘real’ are governed by different standards of appropriateness to the participants in that time and place.
Ethical elements of pornography have definitely changed through the internet, although it doesn’t follow that ethics have ‘declined’ just because pornography is more widely available. Kath Albury’s article is really useful in this respect. She argues that pornography on the internet opens up different representations of sexuality – she gives the example of hairy women, amputees, and larger people – as ‘desirable and sexy’ which doesn’t happen in other mediums (Albury, 204). The ethics of porn have also changed by the widespread amateur porn available on the net that is not bought and sold, but freely exchanged by willing participants.
On the internet, I do think that the public/private distinction can definitely be more easily blurred – we’ve seen that in this course already with JenniCam. As for Poster’s example of the sex change operation, I think the ethics of it really comes down to whether or not the patient consented. If the patient consented to having the operation broadcast on the web, then I don’t think it can be unethical, people who disagree with the operation or it being broadcast should simply not watch it. That logic can not be used for other instances though necessarily (!) – I certainly wouldn’t say the same thing about, say, child porn. But for the sex change operation, seeing the operation could be helpful to other transsexuals, and may be relevant to other communities too – like medical communities. What do you think?
Yeah, I agree. The redefinition of the public and private speres on the net, has broadened many people's minds and even aided them in their personal issues. The patient who was taped during their sex change operation potentially provided other transexuals with a source of support, especially because this issue is rarely addressed in popular culture. However, the net has been a source of disenfranchisment for some. There is some material on the web where the subject has been taken advantage of (for example, child pornography). So while the web may provide some 'good', it can also bring out the 'ugly'.
I actually think that the idea of "netiquette" basically is a form of law, to refer to your comment, alice. It is just a 'caberspaced' form of law and not law in the traditional sense of the word. There are rules that users in most communities or forums have to obey to and if they don't they get referrals or are banned - which basically means they are punished for the breaking of a 'law'...
I also agree that the internet has been helpful for many less respected groups of our social life to feel more confident about themselves and their identites. That - of course - there are also bad sides to all of this is undeniable. Again, that the internet is - or at least appears to be - rather anonymous helps a lot of people to be who they truly are, but of course it also helps people with questionable intentions to follow their aims more easily.
I feel as if all of this is a never-ending circle or pros and cons...
Yeah, it just seems to go around in a circle. Because, while the internet does provide this great sense of freedom, theres no accountability. But if users were held accountable, than it wouldn't be liberating. This raises a number of further questions, like within what boundaries should ethics apply on the net? And how do we maintain the freedom of anonyminity on the net, without creating a forum for unethical behaviour?
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