TED ANKARA COLLEGE / 9-P
Ethics Are A Fraud . Or Are They ?
zeynep Beril KARARTI
Defending human dignity and ethics in the digital environment
30
Have you ever thought about how ethical we really act in digital environments ? With the rising popularity of social media and digital platforms as well as artificial intelligence and virtual reality , it is no surprise that technology has become an unavoidable priority in today to day lives . More than half the global population does in fact have a social media account or two , which makes us digital citizens of this digital network , or in other words , digital world we have created . However , as we can all guess , with such a global and influential platform , some darker sides of this unavoidable digital void are also present .
We as different people will obviously have different personalities which may help us bond or detach from each other , however one thing is for certain : people often feel more comfortable and confident behind a screen which may lead to them adopting a different persona . This might not seem like such a big issue at first , especially considering the fact that we do not only mask our personalities in digital environments , but we do it all the time ! How many times have you laughed at a joke that was not funny ? More than you can count , maybe . In addition , how many times have you pretended you were following the lesson , but your brain was already dead ? I personally am also guilty of all of these . So , what is it that draws the line between personality masking in real life and the personality masking in digital platforms ? The answer is actually quite simple : the avoidance of humanity and ethical beliefs .
I am pretty sure we have all heard of the quote “ it ’ s not a crime if you don ’ t get caught ” which I am afraid might have some truth to it if I am being honest . This quote actually applies to the persona masking in digital environments , as it is no secret that tracking someone ’ s identity online and proving their guilt is much harder to do than if someone was bullying you to your face . However , one other major factor on digital platforms is that just like the real world , it does not only consist of one group of people , but many groups of people with lots of different opinions . I have personally witnessed the different opinions circulating the platform actually helping tone down the unpeaceful tension created by the bullies . unexpected , is it not ? I would always thought that different opinions are what cause conflicts in the first place , but it turns out they can also be used as a tool to help end the conflict .
Despite their being tons of ill-intentioned people on digital platforms , the biggest reason the dark side of these platforms is so prominent is due to the lack of precautions and actions taken by the authorities of such platforms . I am sure we have all witnessed the inappropriate content getting taken down , and the wrong content going viral . After the George Floyd incident , many Black content creators ’ accounts were banned and taken down . It does not take a genius to figure out this was no coincidence . What makes the situation even more concerning is the fact that such innocent people are getting their accounts taken away from them ,