SOCIAL MEDIA SHOULD BE REGULATED ABSTRACT As social media becomes a heavy influence in our online presence, certain elements need to be policed, as laws can still be broken. This is an insight into if social media, more specifically social networking sites, can be regulated to avoid recent spates of ‘trolling’ or whether it only serves to strip people of freedom to speech. INTRODUCTION Social media has now become a part of our modern day society and has a huge impact on our lives on a daily basis. Social media is the use of web and mobile-based technology to support interactive content. This content tends to be user generated and then might be promoted by other users to a new outlet or audience. Social Networking is a great …show more content…
However other social media platforms such as Formspring and Twitter allow users to remain anonymous, bar the IP addresses stored on their servers. This allows users to hid behind their computers and say things that would be considered inappropriate and possibly illegal on a public stage, in the real world. Trolling has taken on many forms in social media and with so many platforms to choose from, anyone with intent can use this to their advantage. Twitter accounts have been used to make threats and harass celebrities, Joe McElderry being one of many victims. Ennis McBride, with the sole intent of stalking Joe, made an anonymous twitter account to continue his harassment. [5] As technology has advanced, laws have been introduced to protect society, for instance the interception and disclosure of messages as part of the wireless telegraphy act 2006, section 48[6]. So why would you not regulate social media, a new technology phenomena with the potential to cause harm? We could agree that social media should be regulated to avoid trolling incidents like the ones mentioned. However, the Leveson report, a hotly debated topic at present, is trying to introduce regulations on the press, with no guidelines on how to deal with social media. Daily Mail online editor Martin Clarke says it has “destroyed the ability of governments, companies and individuals to control the flow of information to the
Social media provides a unique and somewhat self-centered way for people to share their opinions, promote their businesses, and put a filter on that awesome selfie they just took, but has it gone too far? People earn millions of dollars a year by having accounts on social media. Through countless followers and subscribers, we end up paying for people’s mansions and luxury cars by liking their YouTube videos or re-tweeting a picture they posted. Young girls cry at night over wishing they looked like a model with 1.3 million followers and a thigh gap. It amazes me that social media has such a great power over all of us, and yet we all comply as though that has become the new normal. I may sound somewhat hypocritical since I, myself am on all of the social media sites, but I feel like I’m able to see beyond my love of having
While social media platforms present avenues for the freedom of expression, the rules or regulations that guide the privilege may sometimes be curtailed or applied wrongly. Employees and organizations are facing the dilemma on what to post or not to post on these platforms. An employee may decide to air something through these public arenas without the knowledge that their actions may surpass their rights and thus infringe on others’ rights or cause damages to other people (Boyce, 2014). On the other hand, an organization may control the communication of employees on social media platforms to the extent that it violates their rights and privileges. It is in this respect that this paper explores the Facebook and Praxel cases as they are related to these matters.
Many social media users, for example, have felt the blow of a very hurtful comment from strangers or friends hidden behind a false identity. For example, Twitter has become a venue where anyone from famous politicians, Hollywood elite, to one’s immediate family may spew out inflammatory and bombastic comments that they would never utter in a face to face encounter. This kind of startling exchange is just a sample of how toxic the Internet can be when the users are not accountable and can hide behind the screen of the internet. Due to the loss of face-to-face contact while online, some people obviously feel free to say whatever they want, and with the lack of initial personal reaction from the recipient of these remarks, the online troll feels no remorse. In the article, "Hiding Behind the Screen," Roger Scruton states, "In human relations, risk avoidance means the avoidance of accountability, the refusal to stand judged in another’s eyes, the refusal to come face to face with another person…to run the risk of rejection. Accountability is not something should avoid; it is something we need to learn.” (59). This statement makes one wonder if the cultural shift to online communication and the inevitable lack of
Social media. People’s daily lives revolve around social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube; the growing number of social media sites and users has increased the likeliness of these social media sites being used as news sources. Protecting the freedom of speech on social media will spread important worldwide news like wildfire, informing users of social media sites about current events quickly and expands the knowledge people have on situations happening in different countries that can’t be or aren’t reported by news reporters.
Social media today is a very free place. We are allowed to post whatever we like and comment on whomever’s picture. However, social media can be a very dark place too, because of this freedom. Hate across the world can be seen, different accounts are made only for bringing down others, and the arguments of the small things are formed every single day. Although these problems are seen on social media they are not related to the topic I am concerned about. I want to discuss all of the hidden powers social media websites like Twitter and Facebook have along with the idea that our government should have those powers.
Social media is a digital communication process that connects people in the creation and exchange of dialogue, content and communities. Nowadays, social media have been playing more and more important roles in public communication. However, some issues have aroused accompanying the popularity of social media, for example, information overload and easy access to obscenity, but the most important issue about social media is the sacrifice of personal privacy. Everything you do on social media is public by default, and you have to change the personal settings to make it private. What is more serious, once information gets revealed to public, it will soon spread to the whole
The technology of today has provided a new way for our voices to be heard. Whether it be an opinion on the color of pants a celebrity is wearing, or who you feel makes the strongest case in the democratic debate, anonymity on the internet has legitimized every opinion and made a way for them to be voiced. With the voicing of opinions comes the voicing of opposition. It is likely that if you have ever been involved with a social media platform, you have been a victim, or a witness, of internet trolling. Maybe you’ve even been the troll. The question is, when does anonymity stop benefitting the diverse culture of online conversation and step foot over the line into cyberbullying and harassment? There are many differing opinions on this matter,
When signing up for a social media platform, do you ever read those labourious pages of terms and conditions? According to an article published by The Guardian, a whopping 73% of people do not read the fine print when registering themselves for these information seeking platforms. These platforms are instruments of communication, which people all around the world use to exchange ideas, information and facts about themselves. While sharing this information people tend to believe that they are communicating on a secure platform however these people have not read the fine print. Individuals, who believe this, believe that they are communicating with in a private environment. They are obviously wearing blinkers. There is no such thing as privacy in the 21st century in which we are living, even though it should be our right. In reality we are being
Imagine this, you are just coming back from school where some kid has been bullying you all day. You come home and think that the bullying is over only to open your laptop and open Twitter. You then find out that someone has made a fake account all about making fun of you and just destroying your life little by little. Now everyone sees those embarrassing pictures of you at a party including the place you were trying to get a job at. Then you finally realize that the person doing this to you can not even really get in trouble, how would you feel now? There are multiple reasons for why people should be able to be prosecuted for statements made on social media.
The ever increasing amount of people utilizing the internet as a means of communication has led to many interesting phenomena. One that can be easily observed on many online forums is the use of pseudonyms instead of actual names. The ability to utilize pseudonyms when creating online profiles allows people to protect their identities, enabling them to freely voice their opinions without fear of retaliation. When browsing through online comment sections and social media, it is common to come across people writing under pseudonyms. The reasons for using an alias can be many; while there are people that utilize online anonymity as a way of shielding their personal life from internet backlash, others choose to abuse anonymity in order to spew
Trolling is the new title that has been given to harassment that takes place on the Internet. A common example of trolling would be sending provocative messages via a communications platform for the pure entertainment of the sender, which then has a harmful effect on the recipient. There are different types of trolling; messages sent to harm others for the sender’s gratification are called ‘flame trolls’, and those to entertain others for their gratification have been given the title ‘kudos trolls’ (Bishop 2012a, 2012b). Where these actions have the resource to legal remedies they are called ‘electronic message faults’ and where the message fails to constitute an offence ‘electronic message freedoms’, and there is quite rightly nothing to
Social Media is a current way in which people are using to interact with one another daily. Since the launch of various Social Networking Sites (SNS) its been a huge attraction in a new way to share information with others and correspond with interests of your choice in many different forms. Although social media sites allow users to share information with friends and other sites on the internet, many people are unaware of how their privacy is getting out. Now that the expansion of global connection through these social media networking sites are so highly present in todays society, giving us easy access to information, the lack of one's privacy is being diminished. Everyday peoples privacy rights are
When social media was first invented, there wasn’t much of an issue. But as the years have gone on and more and more social media networks are being created and more and more citizens are
While many experts see access to the internet and social media a "fundamental human right", there are no true laws or regulations that control what people can post or say with the exception of basic "terms of service and use" that all users must agree to prior to use of a site. However, the only punishment for violation is the deletion or suspension of that offenders social media account. Recently, many cases have come to light where a accuser has been found to have committed perjury due to conflicting Facebook/Twitter posts. However, there are no laws that address this type of perjury and therefore no punishment follows. Social media is in
Social media can be described as a set of websites, online platforms, or applications that give people an opportunity to create, publish or use, save, and share content like images, videos, or text materials over the internet. Regardless on the social media places, anyone can become a publisher, post and comment whatever they would like, disregarding the social media policies. It is seen as a form of convenience that gives people the liberty to express their ideas and thoughts without fear or favor, which offers a kind of democracy, where the rule of the majority wins. Social media permits users to abuse, intimidate, and put threats to others without any fear of punishment. Social media grants its users the opportunity to abuse, intimidate,