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Abstract
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Imagine entering a virtual environment--one where you embody an avatar and collaborate with other users to explore, chat, and build things in a digital world. Suddenly, one of your fellow inhabitants moves toward you, reaches out their hand, and touches you without your consent. In the real world, you may physically move to safety, report the incident to authorities, and even seek out counseling to help process the emotions surrounding the event. But online, the solutions are not so clear. Does this count as an assault? If so, how do you respond? And will there be any consequences for the perpetrator?
As our lives increasingly move online, these questions become more and more pressing. Yet, as online harassment becomes a widespread societal issue, universal answers to these questions are not readily available.
The impetus behind developing advanced technologies is almost always an optimistic one. Architects crafted virtual reality (VR) to be a fully immersive experience, allowing users to access worlds that they may not otherwise be able to inhabit. Since its creation, VR has been widely used to entertain, as well as to enhance the efficacy of things such as occupational training, scientific research, and healthcare. Other technologies, such as the GPS behind apps such as Find my Friends, were developed to assist with social interaction, and the Internet at large brings a world of information to a wider population than could have been imagined decades ago.
Nevertheless, despite developers' intentions, people will inevitably use technology for nefarious purposes. The same apps that help users locate their loved ones can also facilitate stalking. The chat programs that connect users to friends can be used to harass strangers and spew hateful rhetoric. And now, as the metaverse--a network of immersive and fully interactive online environments--comes into being, it is no surprise that this type of behavior, alternately termed "technology-facilitated abuse" or "technology-assisted abuse," has extended to those spaces as well.
This issue is not a new one. Abuse of technology has existed for as long as technology itself. However, as technology becomes ubiquitous and increasingly immersive, incidents of abuse and harassment have become more and more common...
Language: en |