In our everyday communications we follow an unspoken etiquette, be it through our body language or the spoken word, manners go a long way. It is no surprise then that the term “netiquette” was formed, and from this, the Ten Commandments for computer users. The growth of the computer age has seen a religious like law on how to and how not to approach computer ethics.
Generation Y is new media, the Internet is our bible and Websites are the books of our bible.
Much like the book of Exodus, Arlene Rinaldi’s website offers us the “Ten Commandments for Computer Ethics” (Hamelink 2006). Although we have been given a moral code to follow both in our religious lives and mediated lives, it is not a necessary path we must follow. Are we breaking away from the ethical standards written for us and leading towards a life of lies and deceit?
“Thou shalt not use a computer to harm other people”…enter cyber bullying.
“Thou shalt not use a computer to steal”…enter illegal downloading.
“Thou shalt not use a computer to bear false witness”…enter identity creation in social networks.
The Internets “anonymous nature renders lies and deceit easy and attractive” (Hamelink 2006) and so we as a society are steering away from the Ten Commandments for computer ethics. In traditional times this may be seen as failure to follow religious law, but with the growth of the new computer age is failure to follow an ethical standard becoming socially acceptable? My guess is yes.
Reference List:
Hamelink, C. (2006). The Ethics of the Internet: Can we cope with Lies and Deceit on the Net? In Ideologies of the Internet, K. Sarikakis & Daya Thussu, pp. 115-130. New Jersey: Hampton Press.
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