Don’t Be A Jerk, Download Some Morality

Sometimes reading through the comments section of a YouTube video can shake your faith in humanity. More often than not, the discussion devolves into a schoolyard taunting session, peppered with hefty doses of racist or sexist remarks. Worse yet, it always seems that the most abrasive comments also receive the most likes. The internet can be a harsh place.

Don’t get me wrong, instantaneous worldwide communication is overall a wonderful thing. AirBnB beats stuffy hotels, Amazon beats department stores, and Netflix makes cable TV look as quaint as 1930’s radio. The internet has transformed our lives for the better, and there is no turning back. And beyond these new conveniences, the internet is making huge impacts on human rights movements around the world; The Arab Spring movements and the 2014 Hong Kong protests being recent examples.

Yet, there is a dark side to this digital paradise. Anonymity may assist global freedom activists, but it also diminishes self-responsibility. Given a platform for anonymous communication, otherwise well-adjusted individuals can turn into unhinged jerks. There is even a term for this phenomenon: The Online Disinhibition Effect. Observance of this effect dates back to the 1970’s, when CB radio was popular. Similarly to the internet, CB radio provided an anonymous platform and a large audience. The results were not unlike what is seen on the internet today: obscene insults from complete strangers.

Lately, the effect seems to be creeping into everyday life. The rise of social media, video calling, and other electronic communication platforms is diminishing the need for a local social circle. People no longer solely depend on befriending their neighbors to build their network. Instead, a social life can be built and maintained online, with friends in distant places and hot dates just a swipe away. That certainly makes for efficient networking, but what happens to a community in which people no longer know their neighbor?

Maybe this neglected sense of community is partially to blame for the examples of antisocial behavior we see plastered on our news feed everyday. There appears to be no shortage to the videos of people all around the globe acting like they have no moral compass. Of course, it is possible that I’m suffering from congruence bias; Perhaps this behavior is nothing new, and only now that everyone has a camera in their pocket is it actually coming to light. Either way, in an era when I can hail a taxi to my precise location with just the click of a button, it would be nice to see the same progress in the social aspects of life.

That’s exactly what I find so exciting about the Panacea.video project. The website serves as a hub for viral videos, similar to what you see on Upworthy or LiveLeak, but with a clearly unique goal: “to make the world more civilized.” Instead of just posting the viral video, getting the page views, and moving on to the next story, the Panacea team is pushing the idea of hosting the “world’s first online courtroom.” In other words, if you get caught or are accused of doing something not-so-neighborly, you may be called on to defend yourself in front of a jury of your (internet) peers.

It’s an interesting concept, and I am looking forward to seeing how it develops. At some point we need to realize that there is more to life than convenience. Technology has granted us plenty of newfound wealth, but maybe it also distracts us from the fundamentals of a truly prosperous society. Sorta like when Netflix distracts me from food on the stove, and I must resort to ordering takeout again. Oh and how convenient, I already have the Seamless app for that.