Created: January 23 2020

ETHICS

Straight body, excuse yourself if you burp, and saying thank you when someone does a kindness to you. These few examples are “the set of rules or customs that control accepted behavior in particular social groups or social situations,” called etiquette (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.). Same goes with the meaning of netiquette, the only difference is it is based on the digital or online situation (Jacob, 2019), but the customs are similar, no matter if you’re in the physical world or not. But how can we achieve netiquettes? We must first know and understand the meaning and difference between morality and ethics, ‘do we need to develop digital ethics?’, site examples of morally/ethically questionable digital content, and how is this related with profession.

Morality is the “ability to understand the difference between right and wrong” (Straubhaar, LaRose, & Davenport, 2016, p. 505). While ethics, “are standards of good conduct and moral rules in all situations whether or not they are governed by formal laws or policies” (ibid). Though both of these concepts are closely related, “morals refer mainly to guiding principles, and ethics refer to specific rules and actions, or behaviors” (Dictionary.com). You must always remember that what is ethical isn’t always what is moral, and vice versa.

“Do we need to develop digital ethics or should we muddle through?” In developing digital ethics, “increased vulnerability requires increased responsibility” as individuals (Ess, p. 13), in contrast to the argument of ‘muddle through’, which means learning more from our experiences than from careful reflection; “we will simply learn from our mistakes” (Ess, p. 14). But because our interactions nowadays are based on how we respond via digital media and networks, our ethical responsibility should be understood as “distributed responsibility” (Ess, p. 21), means the “ability to recognize, interpret and act upon multiple principles and values according to the standards within a given field and/or context” (Suny Empire State College). Thankfully, this understanding has been already shared with multiple philosophies and religions around the world.

An example of questionable digital ethics is Logan Paul’s ‘Suicide Forest’ in 2017, it showed a body of an apparent suicide victim in Japan’s Aokigahara forest (Roper, 2019). Even though he has sincerely apologized for his actions, it raises awareness on being careful on what you post; think twice before you click. This also applies on my profession as a programmer, because I must create programs that must be ethically acceptable or else, I’ll responsible for someone’s dismay.

References

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Etiquette. Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/etiquette

Dictionary.com. (n.d.). What’s The Difference Between “Morals” vs. “Ethics”? . Retrieved from https://www.dictionary.com/e/moral-vs-ethical/

Ess, C. (2014). Digital Media Ethics (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Polity.

Jacob, L. M. (2019). Etiquette in technology. Retrieved from Salem Press Encyclopedia of Science: http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.newcastle.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=110642479&site=eds-live

Roper, E. (2019, October 8). Logan Paul: Japan was my biggest fight. Retrieved from BCC: https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-49975907

Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2016). Media Now: Understanding Media, Culture and Technology (9th ed.). Wadsworth, Boston, MA.

Suny Empire State College. (n.d.). Ethical Responsibility. Retrieved from https://www.esc.edu/global-learning-qualifications-framework/learning-domains/ethical-responsibility/

Bibliography

Cole, S., & Maiberg, E. (2019, November 20). ‘They Can’t Stop Us:’ People Are Having Sex With 3D Avatars of Their Exes and Celebrities. Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/j5yzpk/they-cant-stop-us-people-are-having-sex-with-3d-avatars-of-their-exes-and-celebrities

Cole, S., & Maiberg, E. (2019, December 9). Deepfake Porn Is Evolving to Give People Total Control Over Women’s Bodies. Retrieved from https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/9keen8/deepfake-porn-is-evolving-to-give-people-total-control-over-womens-bodies