Information Society Watch

2 September 2007, Nishant Shah, The Hindu

Social networking websites, which are the new (virtual) communities of today have become extremely popular recently, especially among the younger generation. However, the tragic deaths of two young people have thrown up larger issues with such relationships forged in cyber worlds and have even led to demands for regulation or censorship of such sites. The article however takes a more logical view of the entire situation and concentrates on the message that interacting via the Internet comes with its own caveats, as it is with common face-to-face interaction. It argues that the very nature of the Internet should in fact make us more cautious in our interactions over this medium, given the fact that information can be available to a very large number of anonymous people about whom the provider of the information has little knowledge. The article concludes that we have to be more responsible and cautious in our usage of the Internet for such interactions, and that will itself lead to a more safer cyber world.

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