I don't know if ethics and Facebook should really be mentioned in the same sentence, but in a recent NYT column, the ethics of Facebooking were, once-again, addressed.  If you are "friends" with your kid's real-life friends on Facebook, is it right to spy on your children? If you are a teacher and are "friends" with your students, do you have a responsibility to report nefarious behavior such as drinking and/or bad-mouthing other teachers to school officials or just shut your mouth and maintain the student's trust? And, more importantly, who can we possibly turn to for advice about these important questions?

Randy Cohen, a NYT ethicist, (his column is actually entitled "The Ethicist" if you can believe it) apparently believes that he is the Ethical Guru we should all turn to for such all-important questions.

Wonder what he has to say about the matter? Randy Cohen maintains that there is a student/teacher privilege when Facebook is involved. He advises teachers in the awkward situation of learning a little too much about their "friends" to perhaps gently "warn" the students through an e-mail or advise students indirectly through the use of class-time. While respecting the "confidences" that come through the "twilight zone" that is Facebook, he advises that the teachers keep a respectful distance from the students.

Interesting questions for sure, but I have some questions for Mr. Cohen, as well. What qualifies someone to be an expert in ethics anyway? Especially in the digital age when the Internet is only in its infancy and especially on the ethics of Facebook or Twitter. Who is Randy Cohen to tell teachers to turn their backs on students behavior just because they learned about it in the "trust zone" on Facebook? Would he also advise parents the same thing? Did Randy Cohen of the NYT take a special course (perhaps at Harvard Law) primarily focused on the ethics of Facebook? Or did he just open his Facebook account, befriend lots of young people, and decide that this kind of confidentiality must be granted?

And if it is so easy to be a digital ethicist, I wonder what the pay-scale is. Maybe I should get my name card changed. I kind of like the title, "Twitter Master Ethicist" myself, but hey, I know this is the digital age, and a copyright is not what it used to be, so you are free to use it yourself if you like. That is, if you think it is "ethical".