We have witnessed the explosion of Facebook, which now has some half a million followers. We are encouraged to reach out and include everyone we know as Facebook friends. But is there a boundary? In social networking, are there people in our lives who are not appropriate “friends”?
So here is the ethical question for us. Should you ask your physician to be your Facebook friend? Is there a professional distance to be protected with your doctor or even your minister, professor, and psychologist? A recent article in the Los Angeles Times names the doctor question as a dilemma of medical ethics when it comes to Facebook.
Some would argue that this familiarity might be enough to request permission to add a professional as a friend. Someone may argue, “We have a casual and informal relationship, so I believe it’s appropriate.” Would this be reason enough?
Before you answer, consider this: The professional person in question may have access to your other friends and their comments. If your professional friend viewed certain contents on your page, you might become embarrassed.
What about your comment section? What might this professional write? How much personal information do you expect him or her to access on your page?
Our society encourages us to reduce all persons to the same level, so that everybody is friends with everybody else. More so, we should know much about everybody’s business.
So the ethical question is this: Are there certain professional persons whose office demands privacy, and we give it to them out of respect? We do not invade their space. Or do we seek to be friends with all on an informal and casual manner?
Which side do you believe is ethically correct and why?
