| Introduction
Setting the Stage: Questions to Think About
Today, text messaging, chat rooms, blogs, and e-zines spew out voluminous amounts of information, much inaccurate, some slanderous. Added to this is the huge popularity of social-networking resulting in over 34 million members on MySpace most of whom are adolescents, teenagers, and young adults.
Clearly, the internet provides new opportunities for self-expression and speech. But this unprecedented medium, which opens so many new possibilities for communication, also changes the relationships between communicators: it can hide or obscure users’ identities, perhaps enhancing the vulnerability of some users and enticing others to act irresponsibly. Should there be limits on freedom of speech on the internet?
Should internet web sites filter what is posted?
Who should be held accountable for material that may be considered offensive, indecent, or slanderous that is placed on an internet web site?
Introduction
In the fast changing world of communication technology, today’s teenagers are being bombarded with information and opinions via a medium and using tools that were completely unimaginable when the First Amendment was ratified in 1791 This module encourages students to consider the ethical implications of that medium and the way it shapes, enlightens, and obscures communication.
Educational Objectives
- To help the student critically examine the importance of free speech in our society, the need for open forums for communication, and the dangers inherent in the medium of the internet.
- To encourage the student to reflect on the need to use caution and critical thinking to protect both the right to free speech and the potential abuses of its exercise when using the internet.
- To encourage students to examine the cross-cultural and trans-national nature of the internet and to reflect upon the ways in which freedom of speech differs significantly across national boundaries.
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