Published: November 5, 2009

The Internet is a great tool for society today, but unfortunately, some people use  it to cause unnecessary drama or even as an attempt to inflict harm. The recent outrage over a Twitter picture posted by Meghan McCain (daughter of Arizona Sen. John McCain) is a perfect example. She was using her Twitter page and took a picture that showed her cleavage, and others have since criticized her unjustly for being a “slut.” The aftermath of the McCain Twitter incident reveals a number of truths about Internet usage, some of which are common sense and some of which require reinforcement.

It is often forgotten that the Internet is public and largely unregulated. All you need is a connection to a network to access most Web sites. This means that anyone can use it. Social networking Web sites are meant to be public in the sense that you can meet people with similar qualities and communicate with them. Because accessibility is generally unlimited, Internet users must recognize that you can often deal with people who know nothing about you and who will react however they please to you.

To be sure, there are ways of limiting accessibility for people outside of your social network or circle of friends and acquaintances. Social networking Web sites, though public in their scope, often require membership and have developed privacy settings, such as creating a “limited profile” and creating friend lists that allow users to customize their settings list by list. Taking steps to limit the information that others can access is vital in cyberspace. However, this still does not eliminate the reality that, even within a network of “friends,” no one is immune to judgment or exploitation.

Text and context play pivotal roles in all communication, but in cyberspace, this is often lacking. Think about how little you can say in 140 characters. Think about how easy it is to misread a blog entry, wall post or comment. In cyberspace, people are generally removed from the body language and tonal context clues that help people completely convey their points. Since context clues are limited online, effective communication can be quite difficult at times. More importantly, the lack of context makes every aspect of self-portrayal all the more important. Take, for example, the growing practice of employers scoping out applicants’ Facebook pages. It would be detrimental for a potential employer to see you doing a keg stand, so one should at least limit a stranger’s ability to see such photos.

Jonathan Zittrain argues that we are all “becoming politicians,” which is really to say that how you portray yourself online matters just as much, if not more, than your persona in real life. Zittrain’s insight here should be heeded. People need to guard their identities and portray themselves carefully online. Facebook grants users control over their information—we should use it.

Many people can recall the numerous stories of teenagers being sexually exploited by adults online on venues like MySpace. In many instances, these teenagers are looking for some sort of sexual encounter, either signified by a sexual profile picture or the content of the page. If you avoid portraying yourself as a potential sexual object, you will minimize the chances of receiving an unwanted advance online. Thus, photographs that one’s rabbi or pastor, future employer or parent should not see, such as self portraits in lingerie or less, should be made private.

Here, the more sensible thing to do would be to ensure that such photographs do not make their way onto the Internet in any way at all because no one can guarantee that such a photograph will ever go away. The only way to truly make anything private is to keep it off of the Internet. At the very least, one should make use of Facebook’s privacy settings to create a “limited” profile, or do something similar with Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites. Doing so would minimize the chances of exploitation or unwanted attention.

The paradox of Internet communication is this: it is an uncomfortable blend of the personal and the impersonal. It maximizes the possibility of reconnecting with old friends, making new ones and drawing attention from strangers. It streamlines communication, but it makes viral videos, pictures and other content possible. It allows for great personalization and innovation on Web sites like Facebook, but it also amplifies the personal disconnect of online communication, which includes anything from anonymous “flame wars” to stolen identities to impersonations to viral videos and pictures. It is clear that great care is needed in navigating a life lived online. Technology changes quickly, and it’s about time people started catching up.