Social media is “media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.” The notion of freedom of speech is “the right to express information, ideas, and opinions free of government restrictions based on content and subject only to reasonable limitations.” Social media rapidly travels virally, thus magnifying issues so that they are more exaggerated than they would be through conventional media. How do we ensure that this technology benefits society and does not create a scenario which is of detriment to us – how do we prevent “free speech gone mad”? Athlete’s use of social media highlights a …show more content…
Athletes commonly use sites such as Facebook and Twitter to connect to their fans. These ‘authentic interactions’ directly with fans has an ‘accumulated influence’ effect causing a larger than life profile that can promote the player and the product the player represents. This method of communication has had a beneficial and detrimental impact on the careers of players and their sponsors. “All it takes is one wrong tweet, even if it is taken out of context from the actual meaning behind it, to tarnish a player, an organisation, and a sponsor’s image.” Pittsburgh Steelers American football running back Rashard Mendenhall recently logged into Twitter and expressed his position on the death of Osama Bin Ladin who was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Mendenhall wrote “What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side...” The recent almost empathetic attitude towards Osama Bin Ladin led to Rashard Mendenhall losing his endorsement deal with Champion athletic brand. The repercussions of open unedited comments by sportsmen display the need for restrictions on social media. American college athletes have recently been given restrictions on social media sites. Boise State banned players from using any social media during the season. The
In order to find truth to anything, one must make multiple suggestions, ask many questions, and sometimes ponder the unspeakable. Without doing so, there would be no process of elimination; therefore, truth would be virtually unattainable. Now, in our attempts to either find truth, express our beliefs and opinions, or generally use the rights we are given constitutionally, we are often being criticized and even reprimanded. Our freedom to voice our opinion(s) is being challenged, as critics of free speech are taking offense to what seems like anything and everything merely controversial and arguably prejudice. As people continue to strive for a nation free of prejudice and discrimination, where everyone is equal, safe and
Social media has made a massive impact on our culture. One of the areas that has not been affected is professional sports. In today’s world, professional sports teams and players from around the world use social media to connect with their global fan bases. Sports teams attempt to build a larger, stronger fan base by engaging fans through social media sites. Additionally, social media sites allow professional athletes to increase their marketability. However, they can also severely damage their career, personal life, and their ‘brand’ if they do not handle their social media interactions with care (Van Schaik). Twitter and Facebook allow teams and
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
When analyzing the role of social media in American society, several questions come to mind. What is social media and are these social media and networking sites helpful to the people of America; can these sites be used to enhance or do they intrude in the relationships people have with others, and can they be integrated into their daily lives successfully. As the world becomes more and more technology friendly, the internet has transformed into a place that nearly everyone can go to get away. With the constant click of a mouse for some is all it takes to relieve the stress of their day.
This paper addresses whether we should censor or block access to websites with controversial material. It looks at the issue from several sides: The relevant US laws that are in place, how censorship is used at the university and corporate levels, how other countries are attempting censorship, and finally what I feel about the topic.
Like technology, our species has adapted to fit modern times. Through these adaptations, we have begun to communicate through our newly developed technology by means of social media. In today’s society, we are surrounded by sites such as Facebook, Twitter, E-Mail, and various other websites that can often times consume our lives. While social media has plenty of advantages, it also has disadvantages that often times get ignored. As Internet users, it is important to examine these disadvantages and make sure we understand the negative sides to social media.
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.
Abstract: The issue of free speech has been around since the founding fathers first ratified the constitution of the United States. With the emergence of new technology, especially the Internet, freedom of speech has been redefined and its limits tested. What are the limitations of free speech on the Internet, and how can they be enforced? These are the constitutional questions for the digital age.
The founders of the United States government tried to protect our liberty by assuring a free press, to gather and publish information without being under control or power of another, in the First Amendment to the Constitution. We are not very protected by this guarantee, so we concern ourselves on account of special interest groups that are fighting to change the freedom of expression, the right to freely represent individual thoughts, feeling and views, in order to protect their families as well as others. These groups, religious or otherwise, believe that publishing unorthodox material is an abuse of free expression under the First Amendment. As we know, the Supreme Court plays an important role in the subject of free speech and
Despite the fact that we’re already in the 21st century, society continues to show signs of progress and development strongly leaning towards the direction of advancement, constantly evolving. This pattern is no different from the world of advertising, as it has also evolved through the years and quite recently an unexpected technological innovation took the world by storm. It made such a tremendous impact that eventually led to the transformation of traditional marketing, and it’s no other than social media that we all learned to love.
Walk into a library, you have a computer, you are most likely carrying a phone, at home, you most likely have a computer, laptop, tablet, or even all three. This shows that we have social media access at the tip of our fingers, making it so easy to open up the site or app and just type out a phrase or paragraph, letting hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions, of people know what you think. Back then, it was harder to let the nation know what you were thinking, and it took even take months before everyone knew, versus today, where the nation might know by the end of the day, and it’s because of this that companies regulate what their users are posting, attempting at keeping the online world free from threats, hate, harmful words, and more. Rutenberg quotes Jeffrey Goldberg as he says, “At a certain point I’d rather take myself off the platform where speech has become so become so offensive than advocate for the suppression of that speech” (2). Twitter also said that “everyone on Twitter should feel safe expressing diverse opinions and beliefs, but behavior that harasses, intimidates or uses fear to silence another person’s voice should have no place on our platform” (Rutenberg 2).
“Tweet that!! Post that pic on Instagram!! Slide in my DMs!!! Add me on Snapchat!!!” These are the phrases our generation love to use when we try to interact with one another. Social media is a great way to open up opportunities and can assist us with getting our merchandise/business/art promoted or advertised for the world to see. However, there are numerous ways that social media can ruin people’s reputation/careers/future in getting a job. Today I am going to provide the positive and negative features of social media.
Moreover, celebrities can now also keep in touch and communicate with their fans or other celebrities through social network sites. Social media is one of the biggest and fastest way for celebrities to widen their fan base, and it is also a way through which fans could "talk" with their favorite celebrities in a relatively safe, public environment such as Twitter, Instagram or Facebook (Social Media Today, "How Celebrities Use Social Media to Build Their Brand", June 2013). Social Media, basically, has made it possible for fans to strengthen their bonds with their favorite celebrities, and also made it possible for people to keep in touch with their favorite brands or business people, and to know what is new and upcoming.
People are increasingly sharing their lives online through social networking sites with little concern for who may be viewing their information. This has become an issue in current times and is up for debate based on the ethical issues associated with Social Media. People don’t realize joining a social network is like joining a community. As any community in real life, your business has a place in the community but should not invade one’s privacy. Social networking is one of the most popular methods apart from forum marketing that is available to Internet users today. Places like MySpace and Facebook among others have gone from just social interaction spaces to a part time marketing program as
People begin to connect more and more every day with the power of social media. Whether someone is thousands of miles away or a few blocks from your house there is the possibility of finding them on social media. The question is, with all the connecting possible through social media does it make us more distant to one another? With today’s youth, social media begins to take over one’s life and become their main source of interacting. Social media is possibly one of the best and worst creations in the modern world but the cons definitely triumph over the pros.