| For people who are currently under twenty-five years old, it is almost impossible to recall life before the Internet, as they have grown up knowing it to exist all along. For today's college students, the Internet and other new technologies are not only indispensible research tools, but a vehicle for socializing, entertainment, and even defining oneself. Because these technologies are very powerful, relatively new, and prominent in the lives of college students, it is appropriate to examine the ethical issues associated with their use.;Some ethical perspectives may change for reasons that have nothing to do with new technologies. But in cases where new technologies do appear to play a direct or indirect role in redefining what we call "right" and "wrong", then it is prudent for us to pay close attention to how this relationship works, examine whom it affects most, and review whether those ethical standards are rational.;In an effort to understand the ethical lives of college students in the digital age, I conducted original research projects and discovered the following: (1) Piracy and plagiarism are commonplace. (2) College students desire privacy, are well aware of the dangers of the online world, and find it difficult to know whom to trust online. (3) It can be a significant burden to maintain one's social life on the Internet. (4) Technology is both a link to others and a persistent distraction.;These changes, while relatively new and related to technology, contain ethical questions which need further evaluation.;This dissertation contains a sampling of empirical data and also explores philosophical questions about the relationship between new technologies and ethics. Having employed both empirical methodology and the inferential reasoning of philosophy, this interdisciplinary dissertation provides a glimpse of the ethical lives of college students in the digital age. |
