Instantaneous Anonymity

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the wonders of modern technology, focusing primarily on e-mail and IM, discussing the impact it has had on our lives. According to the paper, e-mail and IM not only draws us closer together, but also erects strange new barriers between us. This technology possesses the potential to isolate each of us within our own cocoons of created personality. The paper further discusses how the anonymity of those using these technologies also paves the way for potential abuse.

From the Paper:

"Groups bent on bigotry and social disruption can spread their messages quite easily in cyberspace. E-mail can be used to provide children, teens, and adults with false information; information that these individuals may not realize is inaccurate, or wholly incorrect; designed only to insight. The anonymity of the Net makes it is a simple matter for the organizations that disseminate these messages to keep their true identities and bases of operation secret. In addition, the fact that their communications are "one-on-one" - direct from themselves to their audience - abrogates the possibility of moderating influences in the form of other, more knowledgeable, individuals. Again, teenagers are especially open to this kind of manipulation. Criminals may attempt to recruit them into gangs, sending out IM's or e-mails that glorify their activities, or message. Parents may be unaware of cyber conversations being carried on by their children. Sometimes, e-mail and IM users are coerced by the very information they send and receive online. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Campaign Aims to Stop Gang Recruiting." The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR) 30 Sept. 2005: D1.
• Gross, Elisheva F., Jaana Juvonen, and Shelly L. Gable. "Internet Use and Well-Being in Adolescence." Journal of Social Issues 58.1 (2002): 75+.
• Jepson, Kevin. "Conversations-And Negotiated Interaction-In Text and Voice Chat Rooms." Language, Learning & Technology 9.3 (2005): 79+.
• Keith, Susan, and Michelle E. Martin. "Cyber-Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in a Cyber World." Reclaiming Children and Youth 13.4 (2005): 224+.
• Maheu, Marlene M., et al. The Mental Health Professional and the New Technologies: A Handbook for Practice Today. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2005.

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