Why Is The Internet Different Than Real Life?
If you use the Internet more than a little, here's an important video you should watch (ensure there are no kids around) :
The speaker, Tom, makes some excellent points, all of which I've been thinking about for years now. The truth is that the anonymity the Internet provides allows the very worst people in society to control a much larger community. Imagine attending a party full of lots of wonderful, interesting people. But one person slips in who is drunk. She shouts & screams and curses all night. Do you think the party will be the same?
When I embark on my family of social networking sites, I plan to implement peer-level moderation ability, allowing the group to exorcise the troublemaker out of the discussion. If said troublemaker keeps it up in other discussions then they'll be removed permanently and blocked via their IP address. While they could go to another computer, say at an Internet cafe, they'll quickly be booted out again. Hopefully they'll grow tired of being ostracized and will find another home to espouse their anger.
Labels:
bad behaviour,
Internet,
online,
rudeness,
social networking,
video
2 comments:
interesting video. i think internet equals, or shoul equal "real" life, allthough many say that is naive. internetcontacts dont have to be of less value than "real" contacts. so we have to treat people over the net the same way as in real life
Philosophers have long debated why people act the way they do. Many have felt that religion has been the primary force that has kept society stable for millenia - ie. act badly and God will judge you poorly in the afterlife.
With religion being less & less a factor in the lives of many in the West, only time will tell what is in store for us in the future.
One thing that has become clear to me and many others in the past few decades is that the behaviour amongst many, especially the youth, has generally deteriorated. This is evident on the streets every day, especially in Vancouver it seems.
The major problem, I feel, is a lack of responsibility brought on by a lack of consequences for bad behaviour. The Internet is the worst place of all, because there are almost always zero consequences for bad behaviour there.
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