Censorship And Its Effects On The World

The effects of censorship can have a positive or negative impact in society. "Censorship is the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are offensive" (American Civil Liberties Union p1). Censorship can affect people's moral and political issues and is usually carried out by the government. Censorship affects different countries on different issues.

Canada has always had strict rules when regarding freedom of speech. Some believe that for democracy to function properly, freedom of speech is necessary. Although absolute freedom of speech allows for all voices to be heard. The voices of many can be heard, but there are many more that are left to not be heard. Wealth and power play a huge role in determining who gets heard. Although media outlets are supposed to be reliable sources of information, the media has become less and less reputable because of the now large number of sources derived from radio, television and the internet. These sources are hard to monitor and can generate false information and biased opinions. The line between verified and non-verified sources have become greyer

The history of the world has undoubtedly been dominated by an endless struggle for power. However, after a brief glimpse into the pages of history it should not take long to realize that the trick to maintaining power lies in the control of information. Even the most fearsome military generals of the past acknowledge the power of the mind and ideas over lethal force. Former Soviet leader Joseph Stalin once said “… [Ideas] are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, then why should we let them have ideas.” Stalin’s quote personifies the main concept of this literature review which will be discussing the history of government censorship and its effects that are

Censorship refers to the regulation of freedom of expression or any other information that may be sensitive or morally inaccurate to the people. This information can be considered immoral or politically inconvenient by religious groups, the government, ethnic communities and media outlets. Censorship originates back in ancient times in many different countries such as Rome and China. Censorship was mainly used for political, social and religious purposes. For example, Christians used censorship to defend against non-Christian rulers threats.

Imagine if a society controlled what people see, hear, or did. This type of censorship is harmful to a society. Everyone needs to understand each other’s freedoms. This issue is discussed in Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this society, they can not read certain things and people decide to commit suicide over it. Censorship takes away our rights as individuals. It violates the First Amendment, keeps people from learning, and gives the government total control.

What would life be like without censorship? Though there might be upsides to it, such as more freedom of speech, it could also cause some problems. Not only would we be exposing children to many horrors of the world, we also would be doing nothing to prevent offensive and oppressive content in the media. Therefore, some censorship is necessary for all people; however, in most cases, we should be allowed access to most information in society.

Children’s innocence must be protected by censorship. The debate on whether censorship is beneficial to society often compiles to a few main reasons. Subjects like freedom of speech, women’s rights, and children’s innocence is brought into question when discussing censorship. It is an important debate because what is censored influences societal beliefs of what is right and wrong. It decides what truths are revealed publicly. Some people think censorship is beneficial because it supposedly protects children, but it is actually useless because it underestimates children’s tolerance, witholds information, oversexualizes women, and sugarcoats the truth.

The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States protects the people of the country from censorship. This document says that people have to be free to say whatever it is that they feel the need to say, even if that statement is controversial. Actually, it is promised that people can say things especially when they are controversial. People who want to censor others do so because they do not agree with what it is that is being said. Only be protecting the First Amendment completely, and by not allowing censorship in any form can we continue to be completely free.

Censorship in the common world, is like racism, there is a little grey area. To pass however, there will be no more mention of this grey area; just the words “No censorship”. Source C, D, and F fit into my mindset. As humans, censorship is harmful to our society.

The United States government has the limited right to monitor its citizens. Many countries all over the world use censorship to wield power and monitor their subjects and citizens and make sure that the government has complete control. In the United States, where internet and social media are widely used, the government should have some hand in social media and its regulation as well as monitoring for cyber crime. Take for instance, England, the country has seen a steady increase in crime rate with internet use and social media, from people posting threats or illegal things such as geomarked photos of fully automatic weapons to tracking files illegally downloaded and obtained, such as child pornography or accessing illegal markets for goods

The above paragraph is a brilliant example of why defamation laws should be evolving to better suit the growing normality that is social media and internet forums.

The loudest silence is that of censorship. An individual may feel very strongly about a subject, and have their voice silenced by those older, or who disagree with them. Censorship is an issue that affects us on a global scale. It ranges from issues of women’s rights, to whether or not it is alright to wear certain words or logos to school. It is something that has affected educational opportunities all over the world, and censorship goes too far when it affects children’s learning capabilities. All students, from all races, religions, or genders, should be allowed to research what they want, when they want, so long as they do not harm someone else.

Monkey see, monkey do, a simple phrase relevant to today’s society. Those in society that simply do not know any better, such as children, are inclined to imitate what they see being done. Without censorship daily television shows are increasingly exhibiting more violence, foul language and sexuality to susceptible youth. Due to lack of censorship, explicit music lyrics and inappropriate images on music videos are being introduced to impressionable children. There is a lack of control on the internet leading to internet addiction and forces vulnerable adolescents to face cyber bullying. In a variety of mediums not enough censorship is used, which influences impressionable youth to think and behave negatively.

Media censorship has been both powerful and controversial issue throughout history of mankind. Every countries’ citizens have had their lives affected by the way their government controls and censors what they see in the media. People around the world react to censorship differently due to the country they live in. Some people were born in a place with little censorship while others were born in a country where the government has complete control over everything. This can impact the way a person develops as some people will believe everything they hear and others will question everything they see and hear. Media censorship has been used effectively to control how citizens’ view on the world in Nazi Germany and in the USSR, but social

Does censorship filter the media within the world? Censorship has followed the free expressions of men and women like a shadow throughout history. Censorship is a way to filter the media in the world by suppressing unacceptable viewings or hearings by not showing, bleeping out, and covering the distasteful parts. In ancient societies, China for example, censorship was considered a logical tool for regulating the political and moral life of the population. The term censor can be traced to the office of censor established in Rome i 443 BC. In Rome, in the ancient Greek communities, the thought of good governance included shaping the character of the people, although, censorship was regarded as a righteous task. In China, the first censorship law was introduced in 300 AD. Censorship is a healthy way of teaching the world, helps control the influx of information and ideas in society and compresses the violence within the world.