Ethical Issues That Arise from the Use of Internet Technology - Essay Example

? Ethical Issues that Arise from the Use of Internet Technology Ethical Issues that Arise from the Use of Internet Technology Internet is the most powerful invention of our times that has made life easier by bringing any information home just at a mouse click. With the advent of internet communication, banking, academic, business, governance and everything has become faster than what we could imagine some years ago. Traditional communication means including letters, telephone, music, film etc have been reshaped by the internet. The print media have undergone a facelift by adapting website technology and blogging. Human interactions have been redefined by social networking, internet forums and instant messaging. Online shopping is another major boon from the internet technology. However, something with a positive effect will have a negative side too. However, as Williamson, Clow, Walker and Ellis (2011) point out, these technological advancements in information and technology have resulted in negative effects of which raise various ethical questions with regard to the Internet. This paper discusses the ethical issues that surround internet use. An area of concern in modern times includes the bad effects of internet on students and children. According to Salma and Ali (2013), one ethical question that arises because of internet use is whether the Internet is doing more harm or good on children. It is found that girls and boys use internet at the same rate at home. As Newburger (2001) points out, children’s internet use varies with age. Only 7 percent children of the age 3 to 5 use internet at home; and 25 percent of children of the age group 6 to 11 and 48 percent of children of the age 12 to 17 use internet. Internet has the worst effect on children if it is misused. Children spend more time on the internet thereby evading home works and spending time with family and friends. Michael A. Weinstein, professor of Political Science at Purdue University believes “Internet will intensify the negative effect television has already had on our social skills” (Weinstein, 1995, as cited in Affonso, 1999). Internet browsing without proper supervision gives children easy access to inappropriate contents like pornography, violence, profanity etc. Pornography has serious effect on child’s mental make up. Pornography is unchecked on the internet as pedophiles can download illegal pictures from anonymous sites and escape law enforcement (Verdik.Org). If one searches the word “sex”, one will receive more than 180,102 websites that contain pornographic material (Westfall, 2013). Overuse of internet leads to addiction thereby making the individuals secluded or isolated entities living in a virtual world. Experts say that exposure to inappropriate content at a younger age may lead children to anxiety and ‘behavioral expression disorders’. Another deleterious effect of internet on children is that spending excessive time on it makes the child lose his/her confidence, diet, activity levels leading to health problems like constant head ache and sleep disorders. Unmonitored use of internet can lead children astray by wandering in online chat groups, forums and social networking sites where they are prone to be in contact with people ranging from pedophiles to people with personality disorders. The only remedy for internet addiction is providing unconditional parental love, care, and support so that the kids don’t turn to internet overuse. Another important issue related to ethical issues arising from internet use is cyber crimes. Crimes like online fraud activities associated with internet banking, copyright infringement, espionage and cyber warfare are all on the rise with the advent of internet. Online heist has advanced from identity thefts to much organized ones. The attacks leads to compromising a bank’s database with system level implications. Credit card fraud is usually done through personal information accessed through the Internet (Wall, 2007). Another offence is cyber terrorism which means an act of terrorism done through cyber space. It can be hacking activities organized by groups within network to cause fear among people or to demonstrate power. Drug trafficking is done over internet by selling illegal items through encrypted e mail and other internet technology. There is an unending list of fraudulent activities happening over the internet like purchase fraud, online automotive fraud, work at home business fraud, money transfer fraud, dating fraud, charity fraud etc. Finally, internet has taken away the personal touch in relations. People never choose to have a face to face communication these days. We say that internet has made the world so interconnected than ever before. It provides opportunity to see and talk people who are far apart. Still it is a bare truth that people still live in isolation with no contacts with the real physical world around. Eventually, physical relations are taken over by electronic relationships. Communication is easier on the internet as negative emotions can be successfully transacted than in a face to face confrontation. This emotional invisibility gives us courage to say anything hurtful as the opposite person is not physically present. Hence friendships are easily wounded online than in real because misunderstandings easily occur due to misinterpretation of ideas. One of the major problems these days is that nobody spends quality time with family or friends. People prefer texting or e –mailing rather than a walk together or a dinner with family. But the effect of one person on the other is too little when we communicate electronically whereas there is intense exchange of emotions when we meet a friend in person. In times of crisis, a heartfelt hug or a gentle smile is more powerful than the most appropriate smiley one could emote to lift another person’s morale. This is important since people have replaced gathering together, meeting, or enjoying dinners with communication over the Internet such as social networking which has greatly reduced the personal touch that accompanies the normal means of communication (Cavalier, 2005). According to a study (as cited by Ahuja, 2013), conducted in 2010 study on 8- to 18-year-olds by Kaiser family foundation today’s teens spend more than 71/2 hours a day using media, whether it be watching TV, listening to music, surfing the Web, social networking, and playing video games, according to a 2010 study of 8- to 18-year-olds. The study also found a particular rise in time spent on mobile devices. Today we have reached the extent of Pying the entire attention on our iPhones even while having dinner with friends and family. The panacea for this pathologically serious condition is change in attitude. Make plans to arrange meetings with friends and family rather than texting a friend we have not met for months. To keep oneself away from getting addicted to internet, one should make deliberate effort stay out of internet for a day occasionally. Internet if used wisely is the most useful tool to loads of valuable information at the same time. But if abused, this can be the most dangerous thing leading to a multitude of problems discussed above. Over usage of anything can be harmful to life and this principle is most applicable to internet use in the present scenario. References Ahuja, M. (March 13, 2013). Teens are spending more time consuming media, on mobile devices. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-03-13/news/37675597_1_teens-cellphones-video-games Cavalier R (2005).The Impact oftheInterneton Our Moral Lives. New York: SUNY Press. children's access to objectionable material on the Internet. Newburger, E. C. (Sep 2001). Home Computers and Internet Use in the United States: August 2000. US Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://cps.ipums.org/cps/resources/cpr/p23-207.pdf Salman, A., Saad, S., & Ali, M. (2013). Dealing with Ethical Issues among Internet Users: Do We Need Legal Enforcement?.Asian Social Science, 9(8), 3-8. doi:10.5539/ass.v9n8p3 VerdiK.Org. Negative Effects of Internet Usage on Child Development. Retrieved from http://www.verdick.org/child-development-and-the-internet/child-dev-neg Wall D (2007). Cybercrime: The Transformation of Crime in the Information Age.Oxford. Westfall J (2010). Cybersmut: From blocking software to legislation, strategies address Williamson, S., Clow, K. E., Walker, B. C., & Ellis, T. (2011). Ethical Issues in the Age of the Internet: A Study of Students' Perceptions Using the Multidimensional Ethics Scale. Journal Of Internet Commerce, 10(2), 128-143.doi:10.1080/15332861.2011.571992. Synopsis Internet has led to the dwindling of inter personal relationships. People prefer spending ample time online rather than communicating with each other or in maintaining real life relationship. This leads to isolation in the society which later can lead to mental problems. The greatest and serious impact of internet on children occurs if it is left unmonitored. Excessive time spent on the internet playing games or in social networking sites can make one addicted to it. Moreover exposure to bad contents like pornography and interaction with pedophiles and people with personality disorders can shatter the future of children. Efficient supervision and attention is needed for avoiding such tragic events in life. Cyber crimes are another serious problem on the internet. It is mandatory that we should not reveal personal information to anybody on the internet. With internet banking fraudulent activities using credit cards are on a rise. Apart from this cyber terrorism, cyber war fare, charity fraud activities and many more happen on the internet. The only solution for not getting trapped is never trust anything unless there is enough evidence, and stay away from unknown e mails and messages. A very important point worth mentioning is the effect of internet on social events. Online interaction has taken the place of face to face communication. Family get-together, family dinners or even meeting friends have become rare as today people pay more attention to online activities. The remedy for that issue is to make purposeful effort in maintaining physical relationships. One should learn to value real life relation more than electronic relation. Internet should be a means to enhance life and not to destroy life. One should always utilize the good side of it and wipe away the bad side for a better life. Read More