Honesty Box

Facebook has an application called "Honesty Box". It allows people to send and receive anonymous messages. A lot of activities in cyberspace can be anonymous but the Honesty Box in Facebook is special in the sense that you are sure the message comes from someone you know.

Plenty of concerns are raised regarding cyberspace and one of them is recklessness. If I am not held responsible, will I remain decent? According to the New York Times, Honesty Box is used to spread hatred as a form of bullying, and to express affection when you have a crush on someone but are not ready to tell. People act differently in cyberspace and that leads to the argument that virtual communities are not real, or not real enough to be taken seriously. I confirm the observation of the differences between online and offline communication but I just don't know which is "more real": a diplomatically-managed social relation, or a rough, harsh, unacceptable but heart-felt expression?

An honesty box in a parking lot is an economic arrangement to collect small fees, but the Honesty Box in Facebook is a Pandora's box in which a variety of emotions are sealed. Allegedly "hope" is in it too.

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