ABSTRACT
Students come to college today with a great deal of technological hardware— computers, cell phones, game machines, MP3 players, and so on—and they are quite experienced at using it. How technology is used depends on more than just availability and know-how. It also depends on decision-making, a sense of responsibility, thoughts about consequences, perspective, affordability, and considerations of privacy—in other words, social factors. In 2010, when a college student broadcast his roommate having sex with another man in his dorm room, did he violate the privacy of the people he videoed? Did he breech social norms? Could he imagine the consequences: that his roommate would shortly commit suicide, after first saying good-bye on a social-networking site? What was missing in the student’s calculation about the outcome this video might produce? Everyday technology is used in both positive and questionable ways, by individuals, corporations, political groups, hospitals, police, governments, and international bodies. How is its use decided and who decides the value and legitimacy of its use?
