'Videoblogging' human rights on YouTube: An ethical dilemma

College

College of Liberal Arts

Department/Unit

Communication

Document Type

Article

Source Title

Information Communication Technologies and the Virtual Public Sphere: Impacts of Network Structures on Civil Society

First Page

116

Last Page

140

Publication Date

12-1-2011

Abstract

This chapter discusses what happens when, instead of co-existing, our online and offline worlds clash. In an age where the difference between virtual reality and real life becomes almost impossible to distinguish, a re-examination of core values and ethics becomes a necessity to ensure that human decency is not abandoned and that ethical standards become a core part of virtual public spheres. This chapter discusses a fundamental theme of modern human communication that involves a shift from traditional face-to-face interaction to one that is heavily mediated. Specifically, this chapter focuses on the role of different websites in providing a virtual public sphere, one exemplified by YouTube, where anonymity and immediacy greatly influence human communication in ways that may result in either fomenting greater divisions among societies and propagating a culture of carelessness and disregard for human rights, or one where human rights abuses are exposed, but victims' identities are concealed and carefully protected. © 2011, IGI Global.

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Digitial Object Identifier (DOI)

10.4018/978-1-60960-159-1.ch006

Disciplines

Communication

Keywords

YouTube (Electronic resource); Social media and society

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