Milgram Extended
In his most
famous experiment, Stanley Milgram gave his subjects a switch and encouraged
them to give (false) electric shocks to his colleagues if they were slow in
following instructions.
In many ways,
the internet has become a larger version of his experiment with one exception –
the shocks are FOR REAL. You give people a switch and they can (and do) shock
you whenever they choose. They can disrupt your day, cloud your horizon, and
generally make you feel a total failure.
What concerns me
is that whilst this switch has been given freely to certain members of our
family and co-workers, we have now given hundreds of thousands of total
strangers the ability to dump their anxiety, rage, frustration, or
bloody-mindedness on YOU.
I suppose it’s
human nature to enlarge the circle of those who can “hit” you; it’s easy and
tempting since it feels as if you are gaining the ability to have others
approve of you. On balance, I would guess that a large number of strangers
holding on to a shock button is dangerous.
But, as always,
it’s your choice…..
Until next time
(unless someone hits the switch),
Peripatetic
Scribe
Never thought of the internet in this way, P.S. - it's an interesting choice and I have a suspicion you may be quite right!
ReplyDeleteMark, NZ
Maybe a lot of (innocent) people have already found this out - to their cost. There's no harm in retelling it like it is....
ReplyDeleteHans, Bremen
Hi Mark and thank you. As Hans (Bremen) points out many innocent people have probably had their fingers burned. I don't know of any but I guess there must be several thousand of them and I do feel sorry for what has happened to them.
ReplyDeleteHans - you are 100% right in what you say. It hasn't happened to me (or you, I hope) but I can imagine every country can quote those who have suffered. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteA completely new perspective on our virtual reality. It is tempting and if you choose to participate in this, make sure you really believe in what you are saying and always remember it is important to know who said something to you. If you cannot be sure of that, then just consider the criticism, rage etc. and don not take it to your heart. It might be there for other reasons that have nothing to do with your original statement. On the internet and in real life - always believe in yourself. Thank you, P.S. A most interesting blog post!
ReplyDeleteLucana
Thanks Lucana and I have to agree with your comment. As has already been suggested, many people have been caught but there is no harm in warning people for the future.
ReplyDelete