Internet etiquette and Facebook

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

In the news today, the media is talking about yet another group of students that have been reprimanded for posting derogatory comments on Facebook about their teachers. I am all for free speech but I believe with freedom comes accountability.

When email began to gain popularity, it became a communication tool that made keeping in touch easy; however, without proper guidelines for use, mistakes were made. Individuals would write whatever came to mind without realizing the consequences. This led to the establishment of rules and guidelines for email etiquette that helped curb misuse and abuse. People soon learned to think twice before simply clicking 'SEND.'

Through observations of the past, it may be noted that as a society encounters change, for example in the way people socially interact with one another, there usually is a period of adjustment. Soon after the introduction of change, the pendulum may shift to the extreme which serves to challenge the boundaries of what is socially acceptable and what is not. As a society experiments with these challenges of change, rules and guidelines are established to help clearly distinguish between right and wrong. These rules and guidelines remind individuals that there now are consequences for going beyond the established boundaries.

We live in an age where communication is becoming less personal, as demonstrated by the communication tools we use everyday. Email, instant messaging, and even the cell phone limit our face-to-face contact with others. As a result, we are losing the personal contact that reminds us that on the receiving end there is another human being. It's easy to say what you feel in an email or blog without thinking about how the reader will respond. All we have is a blank screen and our words on a page.

Yes, we all have said unkind words about a teacher or someone else to others in our lives but the difference here is that when it is written, especially on an internet medium, the consequences can be far greater. Words said in haste exchanged between one or two people is very different from posting blasphemous comments that can be read by hundreds, thousands, or even millions of readers. The latter can be far more damaging for all involved.

Soon we will probably see rules and guidelines established for social networking sites like Facebook. Hopefully, this will remind those who use such sites that with the freedom of expression comes individual responsibility and accountability, and that we should all take a step towards personalizing communication again and keep in mind the person on the receiving end.