The article is part of a bigger series -- http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/living.technology/index.html
Yes, we know. We're just all dying to stick our heads in front of some kind of electronic device.
(Refer to last blog about 'Internet Addiction' as well).
With the internet being so abundant and commonplace in the 21st century, it's just not difficult AT ALL to join the bandwagon - with just a few steps... You too, can be part of a online social network.
Hell, I'm part of... 4 different social networks (does that seem too many)? However, it's really a fantastic ability to conversate with friends thousands of miles away who you haven't seen in days, weeks, months, or even years!
Also, we can pretty much type/search/blog/photobomb... Do whatever we freakin' want!!
- -- Upload a picture of a drunken friend... (Who we duct-taped to a tree).
- -- Troll /b/ of a certain image board... (Ahem).
- -- Even, tell everyone the whole damn world you're about to go the restroom to pee. (TMI).
Hey. It is, how it is.
Of course we have the traditional other things, like use it to e-mail friends, use it for businesses, etc.
But when is enough, enough? Or going too far? What is considered 'out-of-context' or 'offensive'? Because a LOT of things ARE considered offensive, yet we manage to avoid those, don't we?.. Do we need laws to govern that can stretch even to our digital lives?
Because let's realize, that it's starting to look that way... As an example of an excerpt from the article:
In a case that would have been impossible even five years ago, bad-girl rocker Courtney Love is being sued for libel by a fashion designer for allegedly slamming the woman on Twitter.
Wow Really? Never in my life have I ever heard libel to occur based on a tweet. At all. Which goes back to the issue of laws governing our actions on the internet. Because does this impede in our right of speech? To be sued for what we say on a Facebook/Myspace status, or what we blog about? I for one disagree (to an extent) - because I believe there's always a median as to how, we as a society, can resolve issues.
Fundamental schism: Is the Web a unique, separate space or is it really an extension of real space?
One of the main problems as to why the law can't seem to converge with the rapid evolution of technology (in this case, they talked about the world wide web). Andrea Matwyshyn, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, who does indepth studies of the relation between law and technology, stated that:
"Generally, it is at least five years behind technology as it is developing..."
I can see why... Seeing as our lawmakers and our congressmen tend to argue about what they had to breakfast and how it's better than the opposing parties' breakfast bagel. (Trust me, it probably happens). With that being said, we, the public and the authorities can't apply hypothetical situations of real life to something on the internet. Here's an example from the article:
... But think of it this way: When a person dies, a house, property or car owned by that person can be passed on, relatively easily, to a family member or an identified heir.But what about online property like account profiles, passwords and digital content?
When you deal with something intangible and abstract... It's really going to be troublesome to find a resolution. For instance, how do you deal with multi-nation dilemmas? These issues need to be sorted out and dealt with in the near future before it comes up as a major problem.
...
If someone were to take an axe and get to the core of the problem, the problem lies within our conceptualization of how privacy should be attached to what ever is necessary, without infringing our rights of privacy and our self-sense of anonymity; personal information, files, finances, and so forth. But, technology and the World Wide Web specifically has a sense of paradoxical ideal that seems to be a recurring:
No matter how you look at it.
We, as individuals, relay information towards the public regardless... Without thinking.
Take a look at Myspace for example. With bulletins as one of their primary widgets that allows us to post events, minute-by-minute statuses, and so forth. You see all these teenagers filling out 'surveys' (which isn't a survey if it doesn't have any scientific or beneficial value to someone). These 'surveys' are full of personal questions that we probably wouldn't even consider answering if told to us in person... Yet, here are some people telling people what they had for breakfast and what color underwear they are wearing. Do we care what object is closest to me? Hell no.
If you're wondering, yes I would find the person making the Myspace surveys and stab them in the eye with a rusty spoon.
The technology is there, but we SURE ARE using it for the most stupid reasons.
On another note, If it's one thing of how the Internet changes us...
It would have to be our personal sense of self-respect and rationality.
We can offend and make fun of someone easily because we have no physical or emotional attachments on the internet. Until it happens to us, then we tend to go apeshit because someone spammed our instant messenger with a trillion smilies that spelled out to 'go f**k yourself'.
Or how people can look at pornography and realize that real men/women exist out there.
"There's an increasing breakdown of the traditional social boundaries between workplace and homelife, and personal and public information," Matwyshyn said. "It's a time of cultural shift and this is going to take a while to stabilize itself and shake out."
Oh and another excellent summary of the situation that describes a forthcoming social problem (I think):
Thanks to the Internet, it's now relatively easy to find the value of a person's home or the extent of their political contributions. Meanwhile, people use social media applications like Flickr or Twitter to share personal details with the world.
The result is a blurring of the lines between what ought to be considered private and public.
So what should we really aspire to? A world without anonymity? Moderate the internet through federal laws? Impede in our rights of privacy? Who knows. We use technology as a media outlet with loosely defined rules that would contravene our rights. It's going to be a difficult task for our laws to catch up to the evolution of technology, and even more so with how the 'higher-ups' handling the overall situation in regards with technological social/culture relations.
With that being said, The internet is srs bzns (serious business).
Picture relevant.
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