Online Privacy, Suicide, And A New Cultural Norm

In the tragic story of Tyler Clementi, the gay Rutgers student who took his own life last week, one of the things that leaps out is the collision of technology and morals.

If you haven't heard the story, Clementi's roommate Dharun Ravi reportedly activated the webcam on his laptop and broadcast Clementi and another man having sex, and he shared it with the world, live. He allegedly tweeted about it, chatted about it, and invited others to watch when he thought Clementi would be having sex again. Clementi found out, and a few days later he threw himself off of the George Washington Bridge. In case after case, it seems that technology has moved so quickly, and made communicating and sharing so easy, there is little check on the emotional id before doing something you might regret later, or saying things you would never say face to face, or acting in a way you wouldn't in real life.