Real dangers online

In a report for Spiegel Online International, “Curse of Cybersex: The Lost Children of Cebu,” Katrin Kuntz narrates how the municipality of Cordova in Cebu has become a den for cybersex. Parents “force their children to strip in front of the webcam,” arguing in a depraved manner that the young bodies are not touched anyway. Sexual exploitation is said to have become some sort of a cottage industry in the municipality. Parents still use the same lame excuse: It is a way of escaping the claws of poverty.

The situation in Cordova manifests how technology is being used in order to dehumanize the human child. While children are protected by human rights, the ineptness of some government officials and the lack of resources of concerned agencies result in the destruction of the dignity of thousands of young children peddled online on a daily basis.

Thomas Friedman warned us of such an evil as early as 2005, when he noted quite rightly in “The World is Flat” that “there is plenty to worry about in this future, from kids being lured by online sexual predators through their cell phones to employees spending too much time playing mindless phone games, to people using their phone cameras for all sorts of illicit activities.”

In itself, the Internet is not evil. It is the information that one puts online and how that information is used that determine its value and purpose. Technology becomes nothing but a tool that propagates what is good and bad. Generally, social media can be a means to promote critical thinking, the common good and pluralist values. But without strong law enforcement, some unscrupulous businessmen can easily take advantage of people’s dire circumstances. Furthermore, the lack of regulation, protocol and clear moral norms online make the Internet fertile ground for the malice and ill-intent of cabals and other criminal elements that prey on the innocent.

Replacements

Another important concern is that our attachment to the online world has deteriorated into some type of a robotic relationship. Our online devices have replaced many things in our lives. They control everything in us. While we use gadgets and computers according to our specifications and compatibility requirements because these are tools designed to perform particular functions, the undeniable reality is that we have become overly dependent on them. Millions of students who are in search of attention tend to reveal too much of themselves on the Internet, without understanding that they are making themselves potential victims of abuse and bullying. Cyberbullying has resulted in various incidents of suicide.

In the 2014 movie “Her,” the lead character Theodore, a divorcee, claims to have fallen in love with “Samantha,” a computer operating system. Theodore argues that it is a new kind of relationship because falling for this hyperintelligent “being” means that the relationship is beyond space and time. “Samantha” does not have a physical body, so she can be everywhere and anywhere. She has feelings—or unsettling feelings, Theodore would like to say.

Michio Kaku’s 1997 book “Visions” elaborates on the possibility of man engaging in cyborg relationships. Kaku writes that “artificial intelligence envisions providing a robot with the capacity to ‘love’ its master, which would increase its commercial success and acceptability by the owner… When you bring one into your house, it will understand that you’re the person it’s there for, and that it had better keep you happy… It will care how you feel about its actions. It will try to please you in an apparently selfless manner because it will get a thrill out of this positive reinforcement. You can interpret this as a kind of love.”

Against this case, it can be argued that the longing to be with someone is not only psychological but also physical.

Interhuman relationships require that somehow you need to meet the individual and ask her questions, see her smile, talk to her about anything including the nonsensical, or look into her sweet eyes. Also, it is human nature to miss someone who is dear to us. This longing is reflective of what matters to us as human beings. For instance, our overseas Filipino workers ease their loneliness by means of online technology.

Self-disclosure

Our technology has allowed conversation with a complete stranger possible by means of electronic mail, chat rooms or text messaging. But at the outset, it can be said that this modern convention is less satisfying when compared to that with a real or authentic acquaintance. The “social penetration theory” by Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor explains that interpersonal relationships evolve in a gradual and predictable fashion. This theory asserts that self-disclosure is the primary way that superficial encounters progress into intimate relationships. Intimacy, in effect, makes one vulnerable, for the individual begins to reveal the deeper part of her.

So can people really develop authentic human relationships online? While the dangers may be apparent, human commitment takes its roots from different angles. A simple gesture can sow the seed of a serious relationship that lasts a lifetime. Thus, it is wrong to say that everything that happens online is bereft of substance. It does not make you less of a human person when you use some chat room or when you use the online messenger service. Beyond the need to cure boredom, expressing human feelings using the channel of this modern-day means of communication is quite an experience that is worth considering.

But more children are hooked on computer games and prefer being online than spending time with family. They have become modern-day zombies who know nothing about the real world. While these ultra-modern online tools are important for us to be connected to people, there is a great danger in terms of people being controlled by technology. Thus, this modern-day love affair poses potential risks to the values we hold dear.

Christopher Ryan B. Maboloc is a faculty member at Ateneo de Davao University. Jeresa May C. Ochave is a writer at the Centrist Democracy Political Institute.