Date post: | 05-Dec-2014 |
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DIGITAL ETHICS AND DIGITAL ETHICS AND IDENTITYIDENTITY
Dr Natasha WhitemanDepartment of Media and CommunicationUniversity of [email protected]
“Learning to use new information technologies (ICTs) such as computers is considered to be a fundamental aspect – even an obligation – of citizenship and employment in contemporary society.” (Selwyn, 2005, 122)
The Internet and Ethical UncertaintyThe Internet and Ethical Uncertainty
• Internet users enter into complex, ethically charged environments.
• Some areas of concern:• Identity and deception• Property, ‘piracy,’ and plagiarism• Privacy • Respect• ‘Cheating’
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• To what extent are ethical principles established in relation to offline environments relevant to participation in online settings?
• What is the role/responsibility of individuals in these new environments?
• What is the status of content sourced from these settings?
Key ChallengesKey Challenges
• Variance between digital environments in respect of:– the public/private distinction– modes of communication– visibility of participation– durability of content – sensitivity of topic and content– expectations of use and audience
• Complexity of individual environments
Mixed messages…Mixed messages…
• Society sends off “ambivalent signals about downloading pirated material […] Even if copying is wrong, it’s not seen as a serious offence.” (Spinello, 2005, 35)– Jack Valenti (Motion Picture Association of America) on
“file-stealers” “assaulting” movie industry, “infestation of p2p”
– “It's the democratisation of music in a way. And music is a gift. That's what it should be, a gift.” (Shakira)
– file-sharing involves skills that are important to the culture of teenagers (Livingstone and Bober, 2003).
Spinello, Richard A (2005) “Beyond Copyright: A Moral Investigation of Intellectual Property Protection in Cyberspace” in Robert J. Cavalier (ed) The Impact of the Internet on our Moral Lives pp 27-48.
Against this backdrop…Against this backdrop…
• Rather than searching for ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs…’• … need to encourage:
– Reflexivity– Flexibility– Awareness of context
• Four key points of reference.
‘‘Personal’ ethicsPersonal’ ethics
• How do our personal commitments, affiliations and values inform our use of digital technologies?
• Exploring a sense of personalised morality
• Example: Conversations with media students regarding ethics of consumption vs. production.
Ethics of ‘peer community’Ethics of ‘peer community’
•In what ways are our uses of digital technologies shaped by our peers?
– real: friends, colleagues, family etc.– and imagined: eg. other internet users,
‘filesharers.’
•What responsibilities do we have to our peers?
Institutional EthicsInstitutional Ethics
• How are our uses of digital technologies shaped by institutional frameworks?
• For example: – Ethical discourses of regulators and employers.– Professional Codes of Conduct.– Legal frameworks (eg 2010 UK Digital Economy
Act).
The ethics of the settingThe ethics of the setting
• To what extent should our actions be informed by the ethics of online environments?
• For example:– Formal codes of practice (for example Facebook’s
Statement of Rights and Responsibilities)– Negotiation of ethics by Internet users within day-
to-day interactions.
Personal ethics
Ethics of Peer community
Institutional Ethics
Ethics of the setting