4.1Online etiquette
has become important part of our social and working lives. There are two (2)
relevant articles on this topic below.
Digital etiquette otherwise referred to as
netiquette is a basic set of rules to be implemented by Internet users in order
to ensure the internet is better for all users. It basically means “the use of
good manners in online communication such as email, forums, blogs, and social
networking sites” (Digital Citizenship,
Auburn University. [s.a.]). The word etiquette means “The
forms required by good breeding or prescribed by authority in social or
official life.”
First article
Penny Sparrow calls black people ‘monkeys’
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Penny Sparrow
compared black people to monkeys, and questioned why they are allowed on
beaches.
Penny Sparrow, a white estate agent from
KwaZulu-Natal, has received criticism on social media for a post she made on
Facebook. In the post, she compares black people to monkeys. She was
complaining about the “monkeys who have no education” that are allowed to be
released on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day to go on to public beaches and so
“allowing them loose is inviting huge dirt and troubles and discomfort to other”.
This received criticism on Twitter, with Mmusi
Maimane saying: “Penny Sparrow comments are racist. They are an insult to me
and our party. We have too many of these in SA & we must criminalize
these”.
Sparrow went on Facebook to apologies for her
comments. She said her comments came as a reply to a statement she read about
dirty beaches on New Year’s Day. She also apologized to people who have taken
her statement “personally”, explaining she is not racial and in fact “helps
underprivileged people of all races”.
Recommended
articles to read:
Second article
Examples of inappropriate
digital conduct
Rude or
hurtful comment - If you don’t agree with someone’s ide, don’t’ type a comment. If you
have to, or if they ask you to tell them what you think of it, suggest ways in
which they can improve it, or say what you think of it in a polite and gentle
way.
Posting
without permission - Ask permission before you post things online if they aren’t yours. For
example, if you want to put a picture online and your friends are in the
picture, ask them if they mind.
Writing
in all caps
- Don’t write in all caps, because when you write in all capital letters
online it is considered yelling.
Cyber-bullying
- Bullying people online can really hurt their
feelings and lead to low self-esteem.
Effect on society
One of social behaviours' biggest influencer is the socio-economic
environment and etiquette is societal norms. It can therefore be said that
netiquette describes the rules that society dictates we implement whilst we are
online.
A disregard for etiquette will affect society in such a way that our
society will eventually fall into ‘chaos’. A disregard for netiquette will not
have the exact same effect however; it will most definitely contribute to the
downfall of a society. It is interesting to note that most people’s behaviour in the offline
world is completely different from that of the online
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