1). Some critics (Van Gelder, 1991, Stone, 1996) of online communities believe that there is greater potential for deceit in online relationships than in face-to-face ones. They point out that in online relationships, people may misrepresent their appearance, sex, sexual orientation, and so forth. Do you think it is ethical for people to represent themselves inaccurately? Do you think that deception is more likely in online than in face-to-face interaction, or are different kinds of deception equally likely in the two kinds of interaction?
Personally, I do not think it is ethical for people to represent themselves inaccurately but they have the right to do so. I have met people like that online and it makes me feel bad for them because they don't believe in their true self, so they act as someone else. There's a lot of unethical things that people do in this world, but most of the time it happens because they can most likely get away with it. I believe that deception is way more likely online than face to face because people have a screen to protect them, while face to face exposes our selves. We don't show emotions through our words but the expressions on our faces as well. I believe these expressions reflect on what we truly feel. I'm not talking about acting out expressions or faking it but the expressions that are almost like reflexes which reflect how we really feel. When we see someone face to face, i feel like a stronger bond is made between the two people. We take into account that we may see this person again and that if we do attempt to deceive them, they will know it is us. Many things like these affect our decision making in deceiving others.
I definitely agree with you that it is unethical and unfortunately because there is little regulation online they truly can do whatever they want. It is true that they may not necessarily be happy with their true self so they deceive others and create an alias for themselves. I also think that it is way more likely to expose yourself when are face to face, you have less that you can hide. Having these face to face interactions are a way to strengthen bonds versus having a relationship strictly online. There is a sense of communication that you receive when you are able to talk to someone in person.
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