*The Debatewise Blog
Warning: the internet is at it’s most effective when grip on reality is retained.
Dear All,I work for an internet company. I have been posting on forums, checking my emails and surfing the net since the term 'surfing' itself was fashionable. Occaisionally I would get a little caught up in it. I hold my hands up - in my teenage years, when real social interaction was daunting for anyone, I may have spent rather too long staring at a screen. Later I made up for this by spending too little time staring at the screen on which my essays should have appeared at university, but this is not the point.
The point is that the internet is a wonderful tool that can be used for many purposes. We empathise, we educate, we escape. However, I think these things are only useful if we remember the place they should have in our real lives. We should take what we have learned (for example news, statistics, opinions, or even a full-blown OU course!) and use it well in our daily lives away from our computers. What we should not do, in my opinion is take what we have done, seen or read in virtual arenas and apply them to real life without asking if it is appropriate, or even reasonable to do so.
What has brought on this tirade? you might ask. Has my financially-challenged other half read the debate on ivory auctions and decided to set one up? Have I tried to cure the suspected depression of my hamster by forcing it to 'watch' a good film? No. Two people who married after meeting on Second Life have now got divorced, due to a virtual affair. I particularly like:
Ms Taylor's suspicions were aroused in 2007 and she hired a Second Life private investigator. The virtual sleuth, called Markie MacDonald, caught Dave Barmy in flagrante and he apologised to his online and real world wives.
Seriously?
Please please please debaters, use our site how you wish. But remember that it is an internet site. Please do not run away from a private school, give all your money to a beggar, buy a home DNA testing kit (to verify who is a potential candidate for incest )...and then sue us. We are here to help you make up your mind, but ultimately your actions are your own.