Ethics of the internet has been a series running through February 2014 to commemorate Facebook’s 10th Anniversary. Part 3 of the series can be found HERE!

After three weeks of ripping the web to shreds, it’s time to end the series; while the Internet may be a place filled with all sorts of nasty happenings, there are also ways in which the internet helps society and the general user. Things will be more balanced out in this conclusion as both the steps forward and steps of the World Wide Web are discussed in detail.

Steps forward for society

1. An avenue for discussion Forums, comment boxes and social media; these are the places among others where solid constructive discussion can and should take place between groups of like-minded people on the Internet. Given how widespread and popular computer technologies have become, you’re practically guaranteed to find a person or three who share your views and are willing to talk to others about it. While the World Wide Web is home to a great deal of a aggressive and angry individuals, websites such as Reddit and Google + are keeping discussion alive with more pleasant and thought-provoking experiences all around in the comment boxes.

2. The rise of citizen journalism Modern technology allows anyone and everyone with the aptitude of using computers to share information across social networking sites, including images and video footage. This, combined with the numerous pieces of mobile equipment on the market, allows anyone to be a citizen journalist who doesn’t necessarily produce stories but can often get closer to the scene of a story than any press reporter can. Thousands of people have taken citizen journalism a step further by starting up their own blogs and websites to put across their views online and even professional news companies often rely on the common citizen to get footage for their own news bulletins.

3. A wealth of information The Internet also serves as an enormous bank of information, most of which, anyone and everyone can access without issue. Not all of this data is held as absolute truth under close scrutiny but millions of us use the Web as our main source of research. The library of information offered by the Internet is gigantic and it only continues to grow as notable events are chronicled on websites such as Wikipedia and well-known publications become e-books on the computer-based network. Society will undoubtedly continue to use the Internet in this way for many years to come.

Steps backward for society

1. A loss of literacy One particular concern from education centres is that the use of the Internet is detrimental to a young person’s studying of literacy, especially where chat rooms and social networks are concerned. The typical teenage lingo found in text messages often spreads to the Internet, where youngsters can enter messages often devoid of any sort of grammar or spelling. This is turn impacts their learning in school as young people have become used to using Internet lingo and as such, find the transition to proper language quite jarring.

2. The spread of inappropriate material The Internet allows information to spread quickly but it also enables offensive and inappropriate material to reach individuals who need to be kept safe from this sort of material. Young people in particular are vulnerable as witnessing adult material can negatively change and warp their mind-sets over time. Many parents are not aware of the dangers of inappropriate material on the Internet and as a result the problem often continues unchallenged in many a household around the world.

3. Anonymity equals no consequences As discussed in part 2 of ethics of the Internet, comments are free from most kinds of regulation and are often hideous in the way individuals taunt and insult individuals from across the Internet. Even though everything you type into the World Wide Web is logged and stored, there is little consequence for abusive behaviour online. Administrators can ban one account but then the perpetrator will just produce another and do it all over again. The person behind the username also walks away scot-free as there are no proper restrictions to prohibit them from commenting in this manner.

It’s a never-ending issue that seems impossible to counteract.