Friday, October 21

Virtual Honesty Needed!


By any chance do you guys recognize this? OK, I have to admit once upon a time I was a bit like "Julie", then have to admit that I've gotten a lot of great friends over the net. But as expected had to experience the bitter sweet caramel too...
All this makes me think how serious should we take our net friends?
Is it OK to lie over the net, just as long as you are honest in real life? After all it is virtual, you are never going to see them, right?
I've always appreciated good amount of honesty as it's obvious for myself to be honest. Well, yes I may have started conversation with small lies as in where I live and my name but in the end I always tend to tell.
Now it's really easy to play a hot shot over the net as the other person doesn't know you at all, so you can make up just about anything. Besides who are you harming?
Still what about self respect? Shouldn't one have that in all terms, not only respect to oneself even to others? After all how virtual you might say it is, they are still human fingers that are typing the text.
Now innocent flirting has always been fun, and the net is a big place for it! Trust me, I myself tend to flirt a bit once in a while *blush*, but what's the limit? Is it OK to flirt with people on the net and still have a relation in real life? Or is it seen as two-timing? The very same question but presume that you are calling those HOT-numbers where a girl meets boy and like wise instead of the net. Then wouldn't that be seen as two-timing? Yes, I think most of you agrees with me in this case. So what makes it difference from two-timing in net or in real life? None! Both are equally disgusting!
If you call someone your friend whether it's virtual or real life one... You should give the same amount of respect and honesty as a friend should deserve, otherwise there is no meaning in calling them friends. So once again, how serious should we take our net friends? Just as serious you take a human being in your ordinary life. As it is ones thoughts and emotions you read... Those are the two most sacred things a human being has. And not taking them serious is as equal to being brain dead! And besides people who meet on the net gets even married nowadays, so why shouldn't we take each other serious!!!

It's not only how you live your life in the real world that counts, it's how you live it in all the worlds!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I’ve an objection against the term “virtual honesty” that has been the part of the title of your writing as the term itself goes against the values that have been carried out through your entire writing which obviously successfully reflects, I guess, your inner feelings and thoughts. This is really unfortunate that all of us have got a trend to put the concurrently arrived word “virtual” with the advent of the “internet” technology (I don’t know or I ‘m not sure whether it’s been an innate tendency or not but still the intention is pretty clear) in front of any words-specially nouns, as an adjective. But this shouldn’t be the case; we should keep it in our mind that there are few words which can’t be modified such a way that changes the meaning of those particular words any how. Honesty is one of them. You can’t say like “bad” honesty. As honesty is honesty. So, when you modify honesty by “virtual” the word “honesty” loses its appeal and hence, I reckon, it has nullified the prime objective of your writing. Therefore, after having read the small piece presented by you, I’ve got the feeling that there is fallacy hidden in the naming (it could have been “Honesty Needed In the Virtual World”).

Now I would like to take the opportunity to get into the main theme of the writing. Oh yeah, but before that I want you to consider the following scenario:
Let’s assume, Shuhan and Shuhana met each other in a party for the first time and they had a chat for a while. Shuhan disclosed his real identity but Shuhana did not rather she gave wrong information all the way through their conversation. Or it might be vice versa. And they never met after that. My question is, does it matter for any one of them in the conversation who lied and who didn’t? But they enjoyed the moment. Yes, it would have been a matter, very serious issue if they had been friends; in that case a very little false statement or lie or even a tendency of hiding something or anything could hurt the friendship. Yes, the term “friendship” does worth something special regardless the way of making friends. Internet is one of many ways of making friends. But when you accept some one as your friend, I suppose, forget how did you get him/her, be honest and loyal to your friends and I bet you must do it if morality, ethics, values belong to you. Well, this can’t be one sided as friendship is a bond that requires equal bi-literal participation in the bonding. Here lays the point, in the internet which is frequently termed as “virtual world”, there is immense chances to build a fake bond from any party of the bonding that can happen in real world too (refer to scenario stated above). But as the time passes the replica of one’s image gets clearer; if it is vague the bond will automatically break down. So, I want to say it’s a matter of time to identify “real” friends not the matter of medium. You could have virtual friends in real life and you could have real, true friends in virtual world. In this regard, I must say, I solely agree with your consideration about friends and friendship that has been clearly illustrated in your advice, request or urge, “If you call someone your friend whether it's virtual or real life one... You should give the same amount of respect and honesty as a friend should deserve, otherwise there is no meaning in calling them friends.”

It's about being honest in the friendship. It's not about the evaluating degree of honesty on the basis of categorizing friendship.

By the way, I’m really appreciating your way of writing. Excellent work! Good job!! Well done!!! Keep your spirit up and get going. Thank you very much for presenting us your beautiful thoughts in a nice fashion.

Unknown said...

but i think the tendency of being unreal/fake/not oneself, is more on the internet... than in real life... those who find it easy to lie will do it anywhere.. TRUE! but the internet can turn a person into a dishonest entity... Even when you talk face to face, there are misunderstandings, so a friendship may well be based on false bases and will later fall apart. But the work of carrying on something false/misleading is easier on the internet.
Good!

Anonymous said...

Hmm...honesty? Bah! The definitions of that are getting rewritten anyway. But lets not get into a 3rd rate discussion and quite frankly my arguments will not go beyond that. 'Internet Honesty' hmm...thats relative I guess. I mean, u can not blame some1 if he is living out his/her fantasy in here. Can you? Not everyone are character from story books but they sure would like to be one. Everybody wants to be some1 else. Some ppl just over does it a li'l

Anonymous said...

hey! how can I edit my comments? There are too many bad sentences in that. People will figure out that I dont know shit about shit!

Shakia said...

HAHAHA.. thats what you get for trying to prove me wrong!! HAHAHA..

Anonymous said...

Well...tell u what...if u ask me if some1 is deliberately lying about themselves, or saying something they do not mean, it probably means s/he isn't happy with the way s/he is and I'd say they're beating themselves up pretty bad as it is. Then agian, I met a lot many dishonest folks who r even believes the lies they make up themselves. SO...whats the bottom line? Ignore this post.

Mike Searles said...

To: Pavel (Nirob)

Have you heard the term "He/She likes the sound of their own voice"?

It's used in a non-complimentary way to describe a public speaker or some one giving speeches and who ramble on for the sake of being heard rather than for putting a point of view across.

You, my friend, remind me of the online equivalent of a person who 'likes the sound of their own voice'.

To me, it appeared you were more concerned with how impressive you could be with the use of the written word than in getting your point of view across.

Not only that, but you contradicted yourself badly in the sentence about 'honesty is honesty' no matter what precurser is used in front of the word - and yet you then go on to say that by putting the word 'virtual' before the word 'honesty' 'modifies' the meaning of 'honesty' and even, so you say, causes the word 'honesty' to 'lose its appeal'. What nonsense!

My suggestion to you Pavel (Nirob) is that you think through your comments a little more before posting and stop trying to impress yourself so much with your use of the English language.

How's that for 'honesty' online?

Michael