Original scientific paper

Bioethical aspects of Internet

Suzana Vuletić orcid.org/0000-0002-5629-6635 ; Catholic Faculty of Theology, J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Đakovo, Croatia
Ana Jeličić ; University Department for Forensic Sciences, University of Split, Split, Croatia
Silvana Karačić orcid.org/0000-0003-2170-5432 ; Ulica domovinske zahvalnosti 1, 21224 Trogir, Croatia

Abstract

We live in so called “IT” society in which the rapid development of digital technology and access to the global Internet network have influenced the life of contemporary humans. Providing many opportunities: new ways of cognition, information, management, communication, socializing and entertaining, the habitual patterns have moved to imaginary cyberspace. It provokes many questions which are coincidencing with actual bioethical dilemmas of internet connotation: creation of new psychological space, modified perception of verity, virtualization of reality, fragmentation of personality, simulated identity, alienated nature of interpersonal communication and the new modes of expression which tends to raise an individualistic alienation and to develop an egocentrism.
Access to the internet content can produce positive and negative effects on spiritual, moral and social development of persons which are exposed to the Internet’s ethical hazard. Particularly vulnerable group consists of children and adolescents, to whom the Internet has become the most popular, unavoidable media source of entertainment in the consumption of leisure time. Internet has an opportunity to enrich their lives, but can also induce them by the inadequate ethical contents to the inappropriate behavior, drag them to the consumerism, push them to the isolation of internet addiction and make them vulnerable to the new shapes of internet violence/cybercriminal.
That was the reason for conducting research on the “Internet addiction of adolescents”, whose goal is to determine the existing difference of ethical and moral standards of receiving and sending inappropriate Internet content among adolescents. According to the significant statistical relevance, it became necessary to point on protective bioethical guidelines of responsible approach and the use of Internet content. It is therefore necessary to follow the informatical technology by developing the ethics of media and by creating a critical relation to the Internet’s transmitted contents to preserve the dignity of the human being.

Keywords

Internet; digital generation; cyberspace; misuse of the Internet; Internet violence; cybercriminal; safety guidelines; responsible approach; media ethics

Hrčak ID:

134085

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/134085

Publication date:

9.2.2015.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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