Transcending Taboos : A Moral and Psychological Examination of Cyberspace

This book avoids wrestling with the common question of whether the virtual violation of real-world taboos is right or wrong, and instead provides a theoretical framework that helps us understand why such distinctions are typically made, and explores the psychological impact of violating offline taboos within cyberspace.

"Cyberspace is composed of a multitude of different spaces, where users can represent themselves in many divergent ways. Why, in a video game, is it more acceptable to murder or maim than rape? After all, in each case, it is only pixels that are being assaulted. This book avoids wrestling with the common question of whether the virtual violation of real-world taboos is right or wrong, and instead provides a theoretical framework that helps us understand why such distinctions are typically made, and explores the psychological impact (rather than the morality) of violating offline taboos within cyberspace. The authors discuss such online areas as: - ''Reality'' sites depicting taboo images - Social sites such as Chatroulette - Online dating sites - Video game content. This book evaluates the possibility for change afforded by cyberspace, and considers whether there are some interactions that should not be permissible even virtually. It also examines how we might be able to cope with the potential moral freedoms afforded by cyberspace, and who might be vulnerable to such freedoms of action and representation within this virtual space. This book is ideal for researchers and students of internet psychology, philosophy and social policy, as well as therapists, those interested in computer science, law, media and communication studies"--