The Lack of Ethical Standards of Online Social Networking

The Internet is becoming an increasingly popular forum for communication and self-expression in today’s society. Its users span all generations, seemingly beginning at the age at which one master the hand-eye coordination required to use a computer mouse. Internet use varies from “surfing the web”, buying and selling merchandise, and playing games, to downloading music and watching television shows and movies. The Internet is also a source for social networking. This latest trend is becoming a cause for concern, however, as many Internet users do not apply the societal expectations of behavior to their online postings of photos and videos, written communication, or self- representation. Online social networking is becoming increasingly popular. Researchers note that the use of the Internet for communication purposes supersedes music and film.

The use of social networking websites and online chat rooms is staggering. The widely popular Facebook.com began in 2004 as a way to connect students at Harvard University. The website now boasts “more than 200 million active

users” who collectively upload over “850 million photos and 8 million videos to the site each month” (Facebook.com).

The leading US competitor for Facebook.com is MySpace.com, which reached just 125 million users worldwide in

December 2008.

Additionally, many Internet users do not censor their written conversations when communicating through online media such as e-mail, chat rooms, or social networking websites. The informal nature of e-mail leads many people to

discuss things “they would never put in a letter”. Without a doubt, the same observation can be applied to online

social networking as well. These instances all indicate a lack of ethical consideration for the impact of one’s actions in social networking on the Internet.

Not only does the Internet provide an environment that is far less disciplined than the actual world, it also allows for the use of anonymity and modified or entirely different identities. “In anonymous online chat groups you can play charades, wear a mask, and pretend to be of a different age, gender, or appearance”. Although the study authors

note that this model does not accurately predict or apply to all online behavior, the idea that many individuals do not consider the ethics of their online behavior certainly appears to hold true.

Adolescents often find the exploration of the social parameters that define acceptable online behavior quite appealing: The ability to be relatively anonymous in one’s online interaction can engender a sense of freedom from the constraints and expectations placed on a person by those who know him or her. It also reduces the risks and

costs of incurring social sanctions for what is said and done in the online environment.

On the other hand, in comparison to those who are not truthful when communicating about themselves online, individuals who feel that they express themselves accurately online tend to form more intimate relationships with those whom they meet. While self-exploration may allow one to become more outgoing and socially energetic, it is

important to examine the ethical concerns such behavior invites. Internet users should be mindful of the extent to which they truthfully express themselves, and the risks involved in being completely honest online. Moreover, individuals would do well to take into account the ways in which individual expressions of self – including text, video,

and photographs - may be used by others. Those who socialize online should be aware that although one party may

be entirely honest online, he or she cannot expect that a new online friend is using the same degree of sincerity. Finally, there is no definition of how far is “too far” in regards to exploring a new identity or pretending to be someone else on the Internet. The actions of a few people, however, indicate the wide range of problems that may arise from a disregard for the implications of unethical online portrayal.

Today, the number of sexual predators who use the Internet to seek minors willing to meet and have sex is astounding. In just three days, 50 men arrived at a house in Southern California prepared to be sexually intimate with a twelve or thirteen-year-old child (Hansen). The men, who were age 19 to 65 and included a high school teacher, rabbi, and an employee of the Department of Homeland Security, had actually conversed with police decoys instead

of children (Hansen). Though this example provides an argument that there are benefits of creating illusory and false personas on the Internet, the fact that such methods are needed to capture criminals surely highlights a lack of ethical standards.

With such extensive consequences of many aspects of online social networking – photos, videos, written

communication, and intentional misrepresentation of self – it is hard to introduce new ethical standards that will adequately address problems without being too restrictive of the freedoms that make the Internet so unique and popular. Instead, Internet users should simply apply the same societal parameters that exist in the non-virtual world. A good place to begin is by evaluating the possible outcomes of online activity and setting specific restrictions on behavior. Given the knowledge of the possible repercussions of documenting illegal or unethical behaviors, one should consider the effects before posting such actions online. Many Internet users might critique this suggestion –

and rightly so – by noting the relatively small number of cases in which people are held responsible for their actions in proportion to the total number of instances in which individuals make their photos, videos, and comments available

online, even within the confines of a private forum or profile. However, a more cautious perspective on the issue would surely argue that it is better to be safe than sorry. If a reasonable person might expect harm from online behaviors, those actions should be avoided. Furthermore, if an individual would not feel comfortable having his or her actions exposed to others in person – that is to say, if the thought of an individual’s questionable activities being discovered by one’s mother, professor, or coworker is uncomfortable – he or she should not consider it acceptable (or

a good idea, at that) to make such information available online.

Clearly, there is an immediate need for the application of those ethical guidelines present in the physical world to be imposed upon the realms of online social networking. Currently, there is very little recognition of the fact that use of the Internet for communication presents many of the same risks one might find if their actions were present outside of the virtual world. The current misuse of the Internet for photo and video postings of socially unacceptable behaviors, uncensored speech, and misleading self-representation exemplify the concern for a revision of behavior in regards to online social networking.