We recently were assigned to read an article called A Rape In Cyberspace by Julian Dibbell. The discussion we had about it in class was one of the most engaging I have ever been involved in. I have very strong feelings on the subject and it seemed that others did too. Though the views were from two different viewpoints.
The article was about a woman who participated in an early online community called lambdaMOO, where people created online people and would interact with each other. A man made his character overpower the woman's character and raped it online with his commands. Now obviously this guy has some mental issues but that is not the subject of this blog. The discussion that spurned from this article is does that incident count as a real rape? The arguments made in favor of that included that psychologically it may have a very traumatizing affect on a person since she was unable to control her character, she was not in control of the situation which is similar to a real rape. And also that some people are so connected with their identity in these online communities that she may feel as though it really happened, and feel ashamed to walk the halls of that online community again.
Now the part that I cannot accept is the argument that there is no separation from virtual and physical reality. If people cannot make this veery important distinction then that will have a very negative affect on interpersonal relationships in my opinion. Now I do not want to be insensitive to this woman's trauma or anyone else who have had negative experiences online, but I do believe that they just need someone to help them understand the difference between virtual and physical reality. That woman did not get raped! And it is absurd to even compare the virtual rape to a physical one. I would even go as far as saying it is disrespectful to women who have been physically raped to compare it to an online rape. If she understood the difference between virtual reality and physical reality she could have turned her computer off and gone about her day. It would be normal to feel unpleasant afterward but not to be extremely traumatized by the experience. It also happens to be the best solution to the problem. As we discussed in class there is really no way to punish or stop the man for what he did. The only way to deal with it is to take away his power by not giving him power to hurt you.
It may be getting more difficult to see the separation of virtual and physical reality now as the world is getting more and more digital. Much more time is spent online talking to friends, making new friends, finding out the news, even watching and discussing television shows. But even though the gap is closing there will ALWAYS be a separation between virtual life and physical life and it is so important that everyone knows this. The internet is a convenience, not a necessity. People lived without it for thousands of years, and if it somehow crashed forever tomorrow the world would adjust.
What interpersonal communication problems will arise if people cannot separate virtual and physical reality? Well my professor answered that question with a story she told us in class. Apparently two men were sitting next to each other playing a computer game. One man physically stabbed the other, and his reason was he was defending himself because the other man was trying to steal a sword from him on the game. Now when she told this story most everyone had the same reaction, that it was completely ridiculous. And anyone who can separate virtual and physical reality would have the same reaction. But imagine that the majority of the world could not separate the two, what would the consequences of this view be? In that situation the man who stabbed the other man would not have been charged with assault, because he was just defending himself. Isn't that just what this world needs, a bunch of people stabbing each other over a video game?
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ReplyDeleteTwo Questions:
ReplyDelete1. WHO is going to be in charge of "helping" those who feel the virtual world is as real as the "real world"? Doesn't your argument presuppose that "real" life is better - what about those who are marginalized from mainstream society and find more satisfaction through virtual worlds?
2. I understand the turn your computer off argument, but as Dibbel points out - this happened in front of people and was therefore public. So, even if the person in question isn't directly experiencing it, others are watching and there are residual effects of these actions. How is that element remedied?
Good post - needs some outside research, and a bit more on the issues that make this more complex - but it's off to a good start. Keep going!
1. Good question, I don't have the answer to who has the responsibility to teach these people the difference. But as we found out from our discussion in class, no one has the answer on how to fix the problem of online weirdos doing this stuff either. And also I noticed in your quesiton you used the phrase "real world" or "real life"....I was very careful in my blog not to use that phrase becasue it is ambiguous...the internet is "real" too...instead I used physical reality and virtual reality, which I find a much more politically correct way to refer to the two terms. And no my argument does not presuppose that PHYSICAL reality is better, just different, and that people must realize the differences of both and how to react to situations in each. And as we discussed in class I do understand that some people find more satisfaction from online due to limitations in physical life, which I think is great, however they still need to be able to seperate physical and virtual realites. For example if someone can not walk in physical life and they create an avatar online that can, they would probably find more satisfaction in their virtual world, but that still does not mean they can walk in their physical reality. Like I said in my blog the internet is a convenience, not a necessity.
ReplyDelete2. I believe I covered the public viewing it online aspect in my blog, but anyway like I said I do not have the answers of how to remedy. Neither did anyone else in class. If there was a way to stop people from doing disgusting things like that online then I would be for it, however none of us could see a realistic way of doing that. All I am doing is expressing my opinion that the only power we really ahve as a society to take the power away from creeps like this is to mentally realize, as a culture, that there is a difference in virtual and physical realities.
Interesting - I don't know if Dibbel is arguing that there is no separation between virtual and online - I think he was asking some questions and showing what happened to show how online worlds can and do affect people. I am not necessarily advocating for not distinction between the two - but I am also careful to prescribe what is right/wrong for different people. I do believe that for some, online connection is more of a necessity than for others.
ReplyDeleteThough I don't expect you to have the answers - I like the questions you are asking. After all, critical engagement has more to do with your ability to ask questions than answer them.
I had to push you a bit - cuz I knew you could take it :)
I meant no distinction (not not)....
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