The Colby Echo

Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Opinions

Jennifer Cox

The Internet wrapped itself around the earth and scrunched it more tightly into a ball. Every point on the surface became closer to ever other, but our individual worlds got larger. We can see more, know more, do more. We can contact more people faster and more efficiently. Information is at our fingertips faster than we can blink, and we can learn more and collaborate more than we ever have been able to before. Just as languages unite nations, the Internet unites the entire world. Everything known on this great planet can be found online. It is not a utopia; it is the real, gritty world. When you log online and allow yourself into the web, you will find everything that is fantastic, horrific, and everything in the gray areas in between.

The more that the Internet is integrated into society, the more often it is being blamed for social ills and tragedies. The morality of the Internet is being put under fire and parents are blaming social networking websites and file sharing sites for corrupting their children and perverting society. As with any social revolution or drastic era of change, it is crucial that we evaluate how our lives are being affected and I value this discourse. But I disagree that the Internet can be blamed for social evils, and that it is any more corrupting than the world we have always lived in.

Last week, a 16-year-old girl lay in a Florida hospital bed with her face swollen blue, her vision and hearing damaged after being knocked unconscious by a group of her peers. After trapping her in a living room, they took turns hitting her in the head and pushing her up against the wall with their bare hands to get revenge for an insulting bulletin she had posted on her MySpace page. During the beating, two boys stood outside the house to lookout for any adults while the six girls inside video-taped the beating with the intentions of posting it later on YouTube. Though young girl the cried out in pain, did not attempt to hit back, and repeatedly shouted, "I don't have a problem with you!" the girls continued to attack her.

To be certain, the eight people involved in the attack are being prosecuted intensely and blamed for their actions as they should be. They are being held responsible for what they did, and the media is crucifying them in an attempt to discourage the behavior. But in the video interviews with the victim's parents, they blame the Internet as much for the attack as they blame the villainy of the teenagers. This is not an isolated event, either, as the Internet is constantly being attacked for being shady, dangerous, and perverted.

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