I enjoy playing a massive multiplayer online computer game with folks from around the country. One day, I joined a random group of people to tackle a very difficult quest. You would think we would band together, working in tandem to tackle the odds facing us. But comments like "you suck," "I hate you" and the ever-popular f-word appeared over and over again in the chat window when things went wrong.
The sad part? I expected that to happen.
What is it about the anonymity of the Internet that brings out the worst in us? Whether it's MySpace, a blog or a game, people are increasingly taking their Wi-Fi connection as a "license to spill." They are sacrificing the awesome connective and bridge-building opportunities the Internet offers to say terrible, awful things about other people whether they know them or not.
The Internet experience of many teens backs up this nasty trend. The open gossip and rumor between classmates on an average MySpace site amazes me. I've seen Internet groups that unite simply to tease and make fun of others. Blatant, often unearned insults in public comments, profiles and blog entries are placed right out there where everyone --- including the subject of the teasing --- can see them.
It is part of "cyberbullying," and very few teens can say they haven't been affected by it in some way or another. Cyberbullying can show up in text messages, e-mail, IM and blogs. It is nasty because its authors don't see the faces of those they insult. They can't see those whom they target cry.
On one celebrity site people were talking about how they thought one actress was a "trashy w-----." Would they tell her that in person, given the chance? I don't think so.
Why does saying it on the Internet make that kind of talk OK and accepted?
The Internet has made it easier for people to treat others as second-class citizens. Not being able to see those who are insulted objectifies them; it becomes harder to treat them like real people with real lives and real feelings. If we don't look at them, they can be things we invent: paper dolls we can cut apart or one-dimensional caricatures we can stick into little predefined boxes. When that happens, so do things like apartheid, segregation, hatred and intolerance.
My game team had to collaborate, strategize and act together, giving each other equal input and equal respect to win. When one of the players got stuck in a group of attacking hydras, I went to help him. I didn't see the second group hovering close, and they attacked. The other player and I were overwhelmed and lost.
"We should create a contingency plan for next time," I typed into the text box.
"STFU, NOOB," responded one player. "DIE PLZ!!!!," said another. A third uttered words describing my mother that I wouldn't expect from the filthiest pirate on a Tortuga Saturday night.
Did they really mean it? Would they have said such things to my face? Is this the way our culture is turning as we become more and more wired?
Communications technology is shaping our world right now in ways that we can't even imagine. I hope it is a world where tolerance and civility can take precedence over bigotry and prejudice. If we keep on treating each other like we do on the Internet, things might not look so rosy. Karen Osborne is a columnist with Catholic News Service.
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