Controversies in Digital Ethics

393 Pages·2016·1.38 MB·English

by  Amber Davisson

Controversies in Digital Ethics

Controversies in Digital Ethics
Edited by
Amber Davisson and Paul Booth
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
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BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2016
© Amber Davisson, Paul Booth, and Contributors, 2016
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or t ransmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in
writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or
refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by
Bloomsbury or the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Controversies in digital ethics / edited by Amber Davisson and Paul Booth.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-5013-1056-0 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Mass media—Moral and ethical aspects.
2. Digital media—Moral and ethical aspects. I. Davisson, Amber L., editor. II. Booth, Paul,
1981–editor.
P94.C77 2016
175—dc23
2015028754
ISBN: HB: 9781501310560
ePDF: 9781501310539
ePub: 9781501310546
Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Amber would like to dedicate this book to Thaddeus Lincoln Wood. I do this work
in hopes that the digital world you inhabit someday will be a safe place to work
and play.
Paul would like to dedicate this book to his grandparents, Jack and Iris Booth and
Sidney and Eileen Wise. Thank you for your love, support, and guidance.

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments x
Introduction to Controversies in Digital Ethics
Amber Davisson and Paul Booth 1
Section One Seeking Privacy in the Age of Digital Surveillance
1 Little Brother: How Big Data Necessitates an Ethical Shift from
Privacy to Power J. J. Sylvia IV 13
2 “The classroom is NOT a sacred space”: Revisiting Citizen
Journalism and Surveillance in the Digital Classroom Mary Grace
Antony and Ryan J. Thomas 29
3 Passing Around Women’s Bodies Online: Identity, Privacy, and Free
Speech on Reddit Amber Davisson 44
4 Freedom, Democracy, Power, Irony: The Ethics of Information and
the Networked Fourth Estate Ryan Gillespie 58
Section Two Participatory Culture
5 Programs or People? Participation and the Ethics of
Hacktivism Brett Lunceford 77
6 Just War Craft: Virtue Ethics and DotA Matthew Pittman
and Tom Bivins 91
7 Between Ethics, Privacy, Fandom, and Social Media:
New Trajectories that Challenge Media Producer/Fan
Relations Lucy Bennett, Bertha Chin, and Bethan Jones 107
8 “Rogue” Advertising in the Digital Age: Creative Reputation
Building or Industry Irresponsibility? Michelle A. Amazeen and
Susan A. O’Sullivan-Gavin 123
viii Contents
9 “Steve Jobs is Dead”: iReport and the Ethos of Citizen
Journalism Shane Tilton 138
Section Three Professional Communication
10 Perfectly “Compliant”: The Devaluation of Ethics in Corporate
Communication Industry Discourse Sam Ford 155
11 The Emerging Ethics of Digital Political Strategists Luis E. Hestres 172
12 Cash Out: Philanthropy, Sustainability, and Ethics in Nonprofit
News Joe Cutbirth 186
13 When Privates are Public: Ethical Issues in News Media Coverage
of Transgender People Susan Wildermuth 202
14 The Harm of Video Games: The Ethics Behind Regulating Minors’
Access to Violent Video Games in Light of the Supreme Court
Ruling Ryan Rogers 216
Section Four Identity in a Digital World
15 Paradigm Shift: Media Ethics in the Age of Intelligent
Machines David J. Gunkel 233
16 Race, Gender, and Digital Media: The Mis-Adventures of Awkward
Black Girl and Representations of Black Female Identity Erin Watley 248
17 “Be a Bully to Beat a Bully”: Twitter Ethics, Online Identity, and the
Culture of Quick Revenge Scott R. Stroud 264
18 Branding Feminism: Corporate Blogging and the Shaky
Relationship between Ideology and Profitability Molly Bandonis
with Paul Booth 279
19 Not Your Mother’s Video Game: The Role of Motherhood in Video
Game Advertising Shira Chess 295
Afterword: Ethics—and Emancipation—for the 
Rest of Us? Charles M. Ess 308
References 321
Notes on Contributors 365
Index 373
List of Illustrations
Figures 7.1 and 7.2 Tweets to Orlando Jones, November 2013 119
Table 18.1 Jezebel July 23, 2014 288