Hiding Behind The Screen Analysis

In today’s society people have been adapting to a new way of communicating with one another. Whether it is on the phone, on the computer, or even in person, many people seem to like the comfort of having one another. Some prefer to talk face to face and there are others who prefer talking online especially with someone whom they might not know as well as their friends. In the article, “Hiding Behind the Screen” by Roger Scruton, he argues that relationships in person should not be replaced with relations thru the web. A reader can say that his argument is valid because he provides support on the idea that online relationships are not helpful at all.
In Scruton’s “Hiding Behind the Screen” he proclaims relationships that are created online

are not consistent. He goes more in depth expressing how people are counting on the internet today more and more to avoid actually meeting the “one” in person. Scruton explains the reasoning behind people avoiding one another in person is to avoid any awkwardness or embarrassment that one would receive. Scruton also argues that the television and the internet cause an addiction. Like gambling, the more a person is hooked to his or her relationship online, the more they are out of the world from what is real.
In Scruton’s article, he utilizes examples and evidence that provides support to his overall purpose and to his audience.

One example would be how the author utilizes words such as “I” and “We” in order to tie connections between him and the reader. “First, we should make some distinctions. We all now use the computer to send messages to our friends and to others with whom we have dealings…” (par. 2). Without examples and evidence, Scruton would not be able to deliver his overall purpose. His overall purpose is to provide evidence supporting and disconfirming his thesis to make his article persuasive. Scruton refers to theories such as Marxists and Hegelians. He provides each theory’s perception on the topic, which both supports and negates his view. For instance, Scruton specifies how online friendships are not the same as connections in the real life. “You “click on” your friend, as you might click on a news item or a music video. He is one of the many products on display. Friendship with him, and relationships generally, belong in the category of amusements and distractions, a commodity that may be chosen, or not, depending on the rival goods…” (par. 10). Scruton makes his purpose of persuading the reader by showing both arguments about friendship online and friendship in real

life.
First, Scruton provides evidence as to why morals such as risk, embarrassment, suffering, and love are slowly fading away as online relationships are rising. He states that people who have been using Facebook or other social networks use it to avoid the humiliation and a way to overcome shyness from communicating to one another. Throughout the article, Scruton uses people to support his claims such as Hegel (a German philosopher of 18th century) and Marx (a German philosopher of the 19th century). He utilizes Hegel’s Entäusserung to support the claim that relationships are not meant to be made online. "the crucial idea from which we may still learn is that of the Entäusserung, the realization of the self through responsible relations with others. This is the core contribution of German Romantic philosophy to the understanding of the modern condition, and it is an idea that has direct application to the problems that we see emerging in our new world of social life conducted on the Internet” (par. 21). Morals are just as important as everything else. It is what makes people, people. Without it one can no longer know how to function outside of the virtual life. Next, Scruton alludes to a study to help support his claim that online connections have disadvantages. He claims besides the Internet, devices such as televisions and phones also have a negative factor. "It has rendered many people largely inarticulate and deprived them of the simple ways of making direct, conversational contact with their fellows" (Scruton par. 23). He uses the study furthermore to support his claim that the internet and the television are addicting to the point where one escapes from reality. Going more in depth with it, Scruton provides several studies that lets the reader know his argument came from credible sources. An example of this would be, "Research by the psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Robert Kubey offers convincing evidence that TV is addictive in the same way as gambling and drugs" (par 23).
Furthermore, to have a valid argument, a writer must think about the contradicting side to make his/her argument strong. Scruton does a good job as he states “life on the screen is risk-free: when we click to enter some new domain, we risk nothing immediate in the way of physical danger, and our accountability to others and risk of emotional embarrassment is attenuated” (par. 32). It is true that someone who is shy or have no confidence prefer online relationships rather than facing another person face to face. Since it is risk-free, people are capable of doing many things on the web such as being someone who is different other than themselves. Scruton also states that since people will do almost anything, people would not feel pain both physically and mentally. Furthermore, online relationships have no danger “A person can decide to “kill” his screen identity at any time, and he will suffer nothing as a consequence" (par. 32). It is that simple, with one click a person can enter and leave with no strings attached to the other person on the other side of the screen. According to Scruton, “risks are important in an individual's life and the only way a person can risk anything is if they leave the comforts of their own zone” (par.5).
With the internet being accessible almost everywhere a person goes, relationships being made online is almost as good as talking to someone in person. Compared to relationships made in person, online relationships are almost identical as it is free and sometimes there are no expenses needed. Scruton also refers to the Second Life virtual reality as it, “…provides opportunities for “social” action, with social positions achieved by merit” (par. 21). Simply with just a click away, a person can become whoever they choose to be known as and where they choose to live at. Scruton provides examples such as reports of couples with a second life to make it further valid. “There have been many reports of couples who have never met in person conducting adulterous affairs entirely in cyberspace; they usually show no guilt towards their spouses, and in fact proudly display their emotions as though they had achieved some kind of moral breakthrough by ensuring that it was only their avatars, and not they themselves, that ended up in bed together.” (par. 15) Couples find themselves able to pick whatever reality they are in with ease by just a click of a button.
Overall, Scruton’s “Hiding Behind the Screen” is an effective article that provides evidence and support that makes his claim valid. He uses several references from people such as Hegel and Marx to back his claim. Scruton also provides counter evidence such as mentioning the Second Life virtual reality and cost-free life online. Even though online relationships are helpful in some ways, they still have disadvantages that affects a person as a whole. As online relationships starting to rise, morals such as risk, embarrassment, suffering, and love are becoming to fall. Roger Scruton’s article is overall effective because of the way he utilizes evidence to serve his purpose and his audience.