Perez Hilton and Demi Moore are the latest examples of the death of "the art of polite disagreement." The Telegraph has created a list of the "50 things that are being killed by the Internet, and polite disagreement is number one. Moore and Hilton are having a virtual twitterfight and as the Telegraph points out, the gloves come off in virtual warfare.
Perez Hilton is no newcomer to online disses, and this time Demi Moore is taking him to task over comments he’s made about her daughter. Maybe it’s the anonymity or the speed of communication, but whatever the cause, online interactions make disagreements, fights and rudeness viral. Kids take classroom shenanigans to MySpace and heated e-mails speed through offices.
The recent lawsuit brought by model Liskula Cohen successfully against Google to find out the identity of a blogger who was calling her a ‘skank’ may change the playing field. But then again maybe not. When attacking from the comfort of your own home, politeness is out of style. Check out some screenshots of the Perez Hilton-Demi Moore debacle above.
Virtual Name-Calling
Demi Moore & Perez Hilton Pull Out the Stops in Twitter Brawl
Trend Themes
1. Death-of-polite-disagreement - The rise of online interactions is killing the art of polite disagreement, as virtual warfare and viral fights become the norm.
2. Anonymity-and-speed-of-communication - The anonymity and speed of communication online fuels the escalation of disagreements, fights, and rudeness.
3. Liskula-cohen-lawsuit - The successful lawsuit by Liskula Cohen against Google for revealing the identity of an online harasser may impact the dynamics of online debates and accountability.
Industry Implications
1. Social-media - The rise of virtual warfare and viral fights on platforms like Twitter highlight the need for better moderation and management of online communication.
2. Online-education - The decline of polite disagreement emphasizes the importance of teaching digital etiquette and constructive communication skills in online educational settings.
3. Online-reputation-management - The Liskula Cohen lawsuit draws attention to the demand for effective online reputation management services to protect individuals and businesses from online harassment and defamation.