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[lebangg-blog]

[lebangg-blog]

Anonymity on the Internet

"I am deeply in love with a man who is handsome, smart and loving. We are engaged and happy together. The problem? We met on the Internet. Abby, he thinks I am 26, but I'm not. Everything I've said to him has been a lie. I am really 12."

This quote and example in Baym by an "advice column letter-writer" regarding relationships online illustrates the internet's capability of being a double-edged sword. Although it's pros are abundant, its cons can be more frightening than many suspect. A large danger that Baym warns us about is "technological determinism", which is the power technology has to influence and change people. The Brad Paisley song "Online" depicts this influence, with a frustrated, distraught man finding and using the internet to change his mediocre life. 

Baym makes a pretty powerful point by saying that "The internet would lead to the world Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed of, in which people would be judged by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin." The previous quote above however, points to the dystopian capabilities of this "internet world". The internet's ability to cloak age, gender and race hides the fact that these things are real. In a sense, it creates a false utopia. The double edged sword is defined by the utopia-dystopia dichotomy. 

Another interesting and potentially dangerous downside to the internet that Baym talks about is the network effect or network pull. This is also defined by the influence technology has over people in this day and age; if all your friends have facebook or twitter, you will eventually get one as well, even if you never wanted to. I believe the danger in this regards young teenagers trying to fit in amongst their peers. More specifically, a child falling into a trap of online cyber bullying. This has become a big issue in the past several years with the emergence of sites like facebook and myspace.