The Dark-side of CMC

Faisal Hirji
CAS 283
Final Blog
In this class we have extensively examined the internet in various ways citing many positives and of course various negatives as well. However for the past couple of weeks we have been delving into the true dark side of computer mediated communication, exposing to me how prevalent monstrously disturbing speech and actions are freely expressed on a plethora of websites. From pedophilia to perversion, assault etc. I have come to terms with a portion of the internet know as the under-belly of the internet which was very foreign to me to say the least. Which lead me to question the freedoms we should have online and what if anything can be done to stop potential or current people engaging in this malicious behavior without jeopardizing the freedoms we do not want to relinquish.
          This of course stemmed from our activity in lab when we were all assigned those relatively grotesque but very real and revealing articles that exposed some of the seemingly inhumane realities that we see displayed on the internet. The article I was assigned featured a segment that involved creepy pedophile oriented and harassing behavior from real people sharing some of the unspeakable and unfathomable things they did in their lifetime, and the damage they continue to do to innocent unsuspecting women or for one man even his students. A few of the worst on those sites were outed by a reporter and exposed for being the monsters they are and while not all people were as horrible in reality as they were online many were and a few were even worse. These people faced repercussions for what they thought was anonymously posted online.  The internet consistently places law enforcement in a difficult position they are not necessarily at freedoms to go in and deny peoples freedoms on the internet but in circumstances such as these you would have to believe that the ends justify the means.
           As I have learned more about some of the darker material that goes on the internet it brought me back to my younger days and the extremely explicit sexting that was going around my school and at the time it seemed like common place.  However, after coming to terms with the severity to which it can mess up ones life and the emotional pit fall that it can put the victim through I am appalled at how often it goes on in high schools across the country.  I mean when you think about it, if convicted you will immediately have to register as a sex offender, college is no longer a possibility, you will be on probation for 3-5 years, and every job application you will have to state that you distributed child pornography.  I feel that sexting could be drastically reduced if someone would come and speak out and educate the students on the repercussions.  The victims speaking out would help as well, but high school students feel as if they are invisible and a speaker who explains how sexting ruined his life and career aspirations would be colossally more persuasive to the high school student audience.
            This class has opened my eyes to some of the ugliest and most grotesque parts of the internet while we discussed the liberties we hold so dear and pair it with the dangers prevalent in the "dark side" of communication I can explicitly see why such a controversy exists. I personally believe that if some of my freedoms and civil liberties had to be violated in order to prevent malicious individuals from terrorizing innocent unsuspecting people so be it. As long as they are not distributing the information to locations other then areas of law enforcement that could be a rationale and beneficial change to our privacy policy as it relates to activity online.