Unaccountability and anonymity on the Internet has brought about “the end of empathy”, says Jason Calacanis, as he discusses the ‘condition’ of Internet Asperger’s Syndrome:
This disease affects people when their communication moves to digital, and the emotional cues of face-to-face interactionâincluding tone, facial expression and the so called “blush response”âare lost. [âŚ]
In this syndrome, the afflicted stops seeing the humanity in other people. They view individuals as objects, not individuals. The focus on repetitive behaviorsâchecking email, blogging, twittering and retiring andysâcombines with an inability to feel empathy and connect with people.
[âŚ] In IAS, screen names and avatars shift from representing people to representing characters in a video game. Our 2600âs and 64âs have trained us to pound these characters into submission in order to level up. We look at bloggers, people on Twitter and podcasters not as individuals, but as challengesâin some cases, “bosses”âthat we must crush to make it to the next phase.
A good article discussing the perils of living our lives in public, although I feel it loses something toward the end when it takes on a more personal tone.
via LA Times