Along these same lines, we can consider texting. I do a lot of texting myself and find it extremely useful, especially for keeping in touch with my college-age kids. But, when this sad case came up, it shook me.
Here you have a County District Attorney – a man in a position of power – sexting the very women he was supposed to protect:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/103668134.html
It seems as though this man might have deeper problems, but it did make me wonder whether he would have dared say the same thing to these women’s faces. It’s so easy to send a naughty little message and see what comes of it. It’s much harder to say something risque or hurtful when you’re in person.
Did texting facilitate this man’s behavior? You bet, and it’s something we have to consider for ourselves. Sure, we don’t go around sexting people (at least I hope not!), but how often do we choose texting over personal contact?
2 Comments
Anonymous · September 24, 2010 at 5:19 pm
I'd say "yes" texting likely did facilitate his poor behavior, but I'd also argue that had he no access to texting he would have still emailed or called. Had he no access to email or any other less personal means of communication, he probably would have still THOUGHT about his options. In any case, it was the idea that cropped up in his head that made him do it, not the technology used.
Catholic author, columnist, and speaker. · September 24, 2010 at 5:35 pm
But would you agree that the technology helped him give action to his thought?