Question 1

This question had me thinking a great deal about the hypocrisy that lies in the fact that we get so shocked by online deception, but forget that the Jerry Springer style drama does exist to a certain degree in face-to-face relationships. People have secret affairs, and some even tell people they "love" them just to get physical and/or financial benefits. Yes, some people lie online because they find it easy to do so, but people have been deceiving in face-to-face interactions and relationships long before the Internet made online deception possible. The difference lies in the fact that there are some types of deception that a person can't pull off as easily in face-to-face contact as they can in online interaction. Sex and physical appearance are both something we can identify easier in face-to-face contact for obvious reasons. Character, convictions, mental issues, etc. are all things that we can lie about in both face-to-face or online interaction. Ethically, it can be argued that it is wrong to deceive someone in any fashion, but I don't think that online deception is any worse than face-to-face deception. If anything people should be less shocked by online deception because people are hidden behind their computers and may feel more comfortable deceiving someone. There was a study done recently that showed an increase of rude behavior by those who were wearing sunglasses as opposed to not, so I don't see it as any surprise that a person behind a computer may feel more comfortable lying about themselves.