Don't blame the internet for murder

Among the bold claims of the more excitable internet enthusiasts is the idea that the web, with all its power to link people and information and machines, is a revolutionary medium that is changing the way people relate to each other.

Voiced by the enthusiasts, the subtext is usually that this is a good thing, but to some – the people who already fear the internet – it sounds alarming. It plays on fears that the online world has a life of its own: a swarming, seething dangerous life that could spill over into the offline world bringing mayhem and violence.

And so when something terrible happens, like a college massacre or a murderous feud, any connection with the internet is seen as evidence of violence erupting from the online world into the “real” world. And since the internet is, at heart, a growing network of connections, a growing proportion of bad things are connected to it, alongside a growing proportion of good things.

To confuse connections with causes is nothing new. When mobile phones first started appearing, news reports would note with alarm that football violence or bank raids “appeared to have been co-ordinated by mobile phone.” The fixed-line phone was no doubt also once seen as a terrifying means by which criminals could conspire, before it became merely the world’s most efficient communication device. Right now, the internet has taken on that mantle, and just as the telephone changed the way we organise our professional and personal lives, so has the web.

The phone has long retreated into the background of our lives, but the internet is still relatively new and the fears associated with it are fresher. No one would hold the telephone network responsible for a murder that followed an argumentative phone call, but the internet can still be been blamed for a murder that appears to have stemmed from an argument within its chat rooms.

Since most murders result from some kind of social interaction and some social interaction takes place on the internet, a few murders will result from web-based interaction. Eventually that won't seem remarkable.

Comments

[aljuk]

"the web ... is a revolutionary medium that is changing the way people relate to each other"

Rather like life itself, then?

[Mike Louw]

As Holden suggests, the internet is just a tool. Like a mobile phone, fax machine, or even a pen, whether good or evil comes of it depends on the user, not the tool.

[Adam Watson]

I agree with your thesis. For a long time I have been listening with disdain to reports which point the finger of blame to violent video games or the internet for bad behaviour in said context. It just doesn't work as a sound argument. I say don't blame the medium for the crime. Rather, blame the person perpetrating it.

[LawrenceB]

At last! A sensible view of the World Wide Web.

[Carl]

"Don't blame the internet for...." articles are becoming really old hat...they've all been done to death.

Yawn.

[Sam B]

Carl: When "Blame X for..." articles finally die out, so will their "Don't..." complements.

Don't blame "Don't blame" articles for stating the tediously obvious; the fault lies with those who go around talking nonsense that has to be put down.

[Sam]

I don't think comparing the internet with a telephone network is really valid in this case. I agree with the point that the internet isn't to blame etc etc, but it contains lots of static material, which a telephone network doesn't. Fair enough it provides a way for people to interact and network, but that's not the sole issue here.

[praxiano]

First it was the tele, now the net,as humans we always fear the unknown... the paranoia continues...without taking responsibility for our actions....

[Carl]

Good point Sam, but seems a shame journos can't think of more original content to write than "nonsense" and "the tediously obvious".