Ahhh the Internet. My beloved time-sink and reason why I am always terribly late for assessments/parties/bed. Why must you give people the false sense of anonymity that turns regular people into racist, homophobic rageaholics?
Not only do people turn into 'dickwads', they seem to feel the need to over accentuate (lie) about themselves and the things that they do. I don't think the 12 year old I was playing Call of Duty: Black Ops against last night actually did have sexual relations with my mother, nor did he have a 10 inch penis. Regardless, with the illusion of being hidden behind a user name he chose to tell me these 'facts' in great detail with his high-pitched American squeal of a voice. Rosie made some very interesting points about online bullying that directly reflects this facade of invincibility, her blog can be found
here.
I'm not saying that the internet has created a generation of liars, that would just be ridiculous. As Hamelink stated, "Some of the messages are purposely constructed by PR professionals, propagandists, journalists, and marketers." (2006, 116) These jobs are made for good liars to lie and gain a favourable outcome.
Lying is a natural part of being a human, I just wish children would stop trying to convince me that they have regular relations with my direct family members...
Hamelink, C. J. 2006. "Chapter 7 : The Ethics of the Internet : Can We Cope With Lies and Deceit on The
Net?" In
Ideologies of the Internet, edited by Sarikakis, Katharine and Thussu, Daya K, 115-130. New Jersey: Hampton Press Inc.
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