Deviance and Technology
Technological innovations like pagers and voice mail can redefine social interactions and the standards of behavior related to them. When the internet was first made available to the general public, no norms or regulations governed its use. Because online communication offers a high degree of anonymity, uncivil behavior speaking harshly of other or monopolizing chat room “space” quickly became common. Today online bulletin boards designed to carry items of community interest must be policed to prevent users from posting commercial advertisement. Such deviant act are beginning to provoke calls for the establishment of formal rules for online behavior. For example, policymakers have debated the wisdom of regulating the content of websites featuring hate speech and pornography.