Jingwei Viola Liu
Digital Citizenship Indicator B
Indicator B: Promote, model and establish policies for safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology.
Artifact:
Artifact & Course Description:
Course Title
GDIT 725: Leadership and Ethics
Course Description
The learning goals were to address issues and ethical concerns with online group work. Topics on different ethical considerations were the focus, as well as how to apply leadership skills to weigh out ethical choices and display ethical behavior.
Project Description
In China, a recent internet trend called “renrou sousou yinqing”, which is translated to “human flesh search”, has gained popularity. If someone does something online that attracts attention, such as filming themselves beating an animal or child, or having very extravagant cars and possession, they may become victim to a human flesh search. In the human flesh search, a person assembles all information they can find, both private and non-private, about another person and posts it altogether on the internet. China is new to the internet and does not have regulations against this. Human flesh search can damage innocent people, but some argue that it also can punish bad people. Overall, it is a dangerous situation because peoples’ privacy is exposed.
This presentation first gives the background behind the human flesh search phenomenon, and then examines real cases. After this, ethical concerns are discussed. Finally, recommendations are made as to how to proceed in the future – what should be done about human flesh searches, and how to address and respond to them.
Reflection
Ethics in the digital world in education often is directed towards preventing or studying cheating or plagiarism, but the problem of human flesh search is a digital issue that demands attention in China. Good digital citizenship needs to be taught from an early age, or else individuals will know realize the unethical behavior associated with conducting a human flesh search. I feel that people who have not really considered the issues behind human flesh search might do it, thinking that it is righting a wrong, such as child abuse. They may not realize the important backlash, that exposing someone’s privacy is unethical, and that there is the potential that the person doing the human flesh search is incorrect about the facts and their victim.
Technology advanced, and teachers were encouraged to rise to the challenge to adopt computers in their day-to-day activities. But according to Kebbati, students actually experienced computers in the classroom as doing drill and practice activities only. The fast-developing computer technology was hard to bring into the classroom, even though so much more information is now accessible. Trying to integrate this new, fast-changing technology in the classroom represents a new challenge to both teachers and students. A specific difficult is seen in applying computer technology in an ethical manner in the classroom.
Educating people on the ethics behind human flesh search is a way of promoting, modeling, and hopefully leading to the establishment of policies that will prevent this practice. Human flesh search is not safe, and it should not be legal. In the absence of laws or regulations about it, we can still promote the ethical use of digital information and technology by education individuals about and discouraging the use of human flesh search to expose wrongdoing or to act on jealousy.
References
Kebbati, K. (2001). Dealing with ethical issues in technology use in a high school classroom (pp. 1-151).