The Moral Consequences of the Internet

In terms of morality, the Internet’s greatest impact on our lives is the infinite expansion of choices laid before us that have broadened the scope of our moral agency. Never before has an individual been integrated so tightly with the world surrounding world, with limitless access to information and ever increasing modes of communication with others. The moral dangers posed by the Internet are not new; the evils that have suffused it have always existed. However, just as so much previously inaccessible good and wholesome knowledge has suddenly become available through it, so has so much filth and sullied media, previously hidden in dark corners away from the eye of society, suddenly become available with unprecedented ubiquity. The challenge for the future then, in terms of protecting ourselves and our children from the ills of the Internet, is simply to better learn how to make wise choices when using it, how to screen out the bad and discover the good. This should always be our focus when using the Internet and when discussing with our children how to do the same.