Amateur Hour

Citizen journalism is news, community news, information and content generated by users and readers of various media platforms; the digital age has made citizen journalism even more accessible for those with a computer and internet access- now you can discuss your thoughts and opinions on current affairs, international happenings, or local issues. Blogs, like this one, are just one of the ways you can facilitate discussion online.

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LonelyBoy_16, SexyBitch21, eMoPrInCeSs, Cut3yPi3, Baby_Spice, and Oprah28475849 all have one thing in common- they are paedophiles. Okay, well maybe not paedophiles, perhaps they are all lonely, desk job individuals looking for conversation. Or maybe they are all high school kids looking to chat about the latest Twilight movie. Point is, with user IDs that allow you to keep your real identity anonymous, or allow you to reinvent your identity, you can never be certain who people are online.

Deborah Johnson, in her paper Ethics Online: Shaping social behaviour online takes more than new laws and modified edicts, points out how most social networks and online communication platforms make use of generic user Ids; the result of this is that the individual must make a concerted effort to establish their real identity- online communication seems to favour anonymity. The creation of different personas on discussion boards, blogs, email accounts, and social networks has both benefits and dangers, with the ethical question asking where we draw the line between protecting anonymity, and deceiving others.