I am posting a blog right now. Because I am registered under a class, my name is displayed; however, many blogs allow total anonymity. Internet users all over the world utilize this anonymity to spew racist, sexist, creedist, or homophobic content onto the web.
Internet pornography viewing is on the rise in recent decades. Previously, an individual would need to enter into a pornographic/ adult store, wearing the only face that they have, and purchase content that depicts their sexual fantasies/fetishes/preferences, all the while surrounded by other individuals who can see you. Increasingly, individuals are gaining home access to computers & internet, thus allowing for anonymity while viewing/selecting sexual content.
My point is this: the internet is the Ring of Invisibility. We elect to turn it inward or outward. And we all have the option to use it to do things we would otherwise not do out of fear of public shame. This is slightly different than actual invisibility, in that you cannot kill someone, steal something (except for copyrighted materials such as music) or perform an elaborate prank. My rhetorical questions are: how far have you taken your invisibility? What moral lines have you crossed? Does invisibility diminish all sense of right and wrong for pleasure and satisfaction, or do we operate within a framework, though with a little more freedom than we would normally act? Or maybe the morals vanish overtime, and we have only had the internet for a short time?
I would like to think that I am usually about the same online as I am in person except online, I can be a lot more direct. I say the same things I would say, but in real life, I consider tonality and the inflection in my voice so as not to sound offensive. Online, however, there is no control for things like that, so I just say it frankly. For example, in person I would say something like "While I did appreciate the lyrics, the song as a whole was not my favorite" whereas online I would simply say "Song sucked."
ReplyDeleteI have played some games online, where killing someone got me extra points, and I was fine destroying another person, but in real life I would never bash someone's face in with a tire iron. I've never watched porn online, but I do believe it may be a great way for some people to avoid sexual deviance. Instead of going out to rape a girl, maybe a creep would just stay home and watch someone's "fantasy video."
Also, I believe that because morals are relative to culture and background, they are bound to diminish in some sense and become redefined over time. Working on the Sabbath was like an unforgivable sin. Now people work whenever without fear of being stoned to death.
(BTW: Great question.)
The G.I.F.T. (Greater Internet F---wad Theory) states that having anonymity online will result in a user acting like a complete and utter dumb@ss
ReplyDeleteWe're not anonymous online. Everything that you see, do, hear online stays for all eternity, or at least until the internet and all we know crashes and dies.
ReplyDeleteI think that people put up a facade when they are in front of others, but when they believe they are under the safety and 'anonymity' of the internet their true desires come out.
We all have what I like to call 'Human Moments' at all times during our days, times where we feel jealous of our best friends for being more good looking or smarter. Times where your grandmother is bothering you so much, you feel like you want to push her wheel chair down the stairs.
simple. human. moments.
Things we all feel but that you don't exactly share with the world. Why should you? You want to keep that image of you as intact as possible.
Whether the act be pirating music or downloading porn, those are things we don't want others to know about. Keeping the image as intact as possible.
This is a really good way of interpreting the ring of invisibility. I had only compared it to the invisibility cloak in Harry Potter, (yes I am a nerd). However, I agree with Mar in the fact that things posted as "anonymous" can easily be revealed to show who the real person is or was. Just as the internet keeps evolving and evolving, its capabilities will as well and revealing who is such "anonymous" will be as easily revealed as anything else whether it be by common web surfers or your potential future job employer. In light of such the recent dramatic internet drama leading and classified to/as bullying, I hope everyone realizes that although they are not there to directly witness the repercussions, there are repercussions. Just because you cannot be seen, there are consequences. People’s feelings can be hurt and they can in turn hurt themselves as a result. Because of this reality, I have never utilized the internet by taking advantage of this falsely classified "anonymous" because the repercussions and results are just as severe as if I were acting directly to a person or thing.
ReplyDeleteI really like reading this guy Chuck Klosterman. He said,
ReplyDelete"Internet porn makes everything more reasonable -- once you've realized there is a massive subculture of upwardly mobile people who think it's erotic to see an Asian woman giving a hand job to a javelina, nothing else in the world seems crazy."
And I think he is carrying pieces of what everyone is saying. It is important to be concious of one's deatachment from the world around them while online, there is real power in it, but the umbiblical cord is never entirely cut.
We represent a more diulted poll- the general, computer literate population-2010.
If Descartes was right in asserting "I think therefore I am," then the interenet is a much more accurate portrait human nature than Loyola for instance. We aren't entirely civil and that ethical system is considerately more honest. But being more deliberate and humble is a beautiful little social contract we all have goin' on.
There is this mantra that Kurt Vonneugt would spout out sometimes as an old man,
[When Vonnegut tells his wife he's going out to buy an envelope] "Oh, she says, well, you're not a poor man. You know, why don't you go online and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet? And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I'm going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope. I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking babes. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don't know. The moral of the story is, is we're here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that. And, what the computer people don't realize, or they don't care, is we're dancing animals. You know, we love to move around. And, we're not supposed to dance at all anymore."
If tolerance is one of the highest results of knowledge, it is important for the philosopher to live in the drama of that larger framework, which the internet makes more visible in order to lead the good life.
I dont think I have ever been so intrigued by a post as I am with this one. The claim of "internet anonymity" is a really good analogy in interpreting the "Ring of Invisibility." However, I do believe that in these times human interaction is important to people. Just look at the mass of social networking sites on the internet. We follow the activities of our friends and our favorite actors and musicians via twitter and facebook. Just look at the major purpose of this website. It allows us to voice our opinions on topics and for me especially it helps with participation. Some people are not good at talking in front of other people. Myself being one of those people. Websites like this give people like me a "Ring of Invisibility" to be able to voice our opinions freely without the fear of being laughed at or humiliated otherwise.
ReplyDeleteBrad Paisley had a song a couple years back called "Cooler Online." It basically tells the story of a band nerd who when he logs in to his myspace is transformed into a rich, good-looking guy. The internet allows us to be what we are not. In my case its not becoming an immoral animal but it gives me the courage to do just this- state my opinion on a topic of my interest.