Virtual etiquette: dreams or reality?

/By AzerNews/

By Laman Sadigova

The world we live in now, will never be the same, it also will never be as we wish it to be.

Nobody knows whether it is good or bad that the Earth is no longer “round”, but “flat”: new technologies make it real to go wherever we want or see whoever we want without leaving our bed.

The idea of virtual reality is old enough, but only in the last few years has the world crept so close to the border that it is just about to feel it.

So, the thing we have to reconcile with is that virtual reality is our future. In the virtual world there is no old age, no restrictions, no, it would seem, strict rules. However, since the virtual world is gradually becoming our new home, we should start getting equipped.

It seems like the dream many of us have to eradicate rudeness and ignorance is as unlikely to take place in this world as it is in the virtual one. Especially since bad behaviors are more rampant on the internet due to anonymity - people tend to more rude online than in real life.

Since we spend more and more time networking on social media, it would be a good thing to agree on an online etiquette - define the rules of behavior in this virtual society.

Let’s admit that online impunity gives many people the opportunity to write and do whatever they want.

Of course, your page in social network belongs to you and it is your private space. Follow one rule though: do anything on your page, but do not forget that you are out of the house when you leave it. Your personal freedom is limited to a single click, the address of your page, driven into a search engine. As a rule of thumb try to respect private borders.

Each time you want to write a very “witty” comment, think first whether it is as funny as you think it is. The fact that you may never see the one whom the comment is intended to, does not release you from cultural norms.

Before expressing an opinion, make sure that someone cares about it. There is a big difference in between leaving a comment on the website of a magazine, and quite another to get into someone’s conversation. However, if it has already happened, if you are not discreet and became part of a dialogue that does not concern you, at least try not to be rude.

Treat virtual actions no less seriously than real ones, because if real actions may stay a secret, virtual actions will be stored in the cache memory for ever.

Internet has become a place for gossip – a lot of unreliable information, aggressive comments, and private photo sharing and so on take place. Some countries even banned certain social networks.

There are many pros and cons about virtual reality and the problems related to this topic. But there can be much less issues if each of us watches ourselves. Sure, there is no official internet culture, no restrictions and punishments, however, who said that it cannot be created?