Is The Internet Making Us Rude?

By Virginia Prescott on Thursday, March 27, 2008.

There's a cartoon from The New Yorker from way back in 1993, in which a dog sitting in an office chair, with his paw on a computer keyboard, looks down at another dog on the floor and says, "on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog."

But what does such anonimity allow? Who hasn’t dashed off the ocassional flaming e-mail or post without pausing to think of its effect?

We know that online stalking and bullying can lead to dangerous circumstances, but is the mask of the Internet making us ruder people? Mark Timney is associate professor of journalism at Keene State College, where he teaches courses on media ethics and society. He spoke with Word of Mouth about whether we as citizens have become coarser as on-line communication dominates our lives.

Add new comment

In my sometimes not so humble opinion, the internet is nothing more than a macrocosm of society. Our rudeness or kindness, shows up because that is what we hold inside.
While the forum may lend itself to a bolder form of communication, whatever is being done online is a mere manifestation of those involved. Activism , business deals, looking for love, finding news, this is what people would be doing, without the online avenue...Americans , in my view, are mostly rude anyway, arrogant, self indulgent, and mostly dysfunctional spiritually.
Going to a building called "church" has NO meaning because of how modern religion has been manipulated to serve anything but following the teachings of Christ and the Ten Commandments. We replaced that with the idol God of economics. Now that's RUDE.

Submitted by beth aaron on Tue, 04/01/2008 - 10:31.

Idea Smackdown: Round III

About us

Word of Mouth is all about what's new. Online and on-air, the show looks at our fascinating and ever-changing world, and puts the latest ideas under a microscope. Word of Mouth investigates everything from science and technology, to health and the environment, to new trends in popular culture. The show airs Monday through Thursday at noon and is hosted by Virginia Prescott.