Social Media: Unintended Harm

Social media. Some call it one of the greatest inventions of the 21st century; others say it’s one of the worst. Who is right? Well after doing some research, I’m pretty sure it’s the latter. 

So why should you be skeptical? Let’s start with the effect these sites have had on society. Now I do see the benefits of these sites. They do make connecting with people much easier and do provide a variety of content that’s never been so accessible before. However, the damage these sites have done and the power they wield far outweighs any benefit.

For starters, social media has given rise to mob mentality and mob rule. I’m certain everyone is aware of cancel culture, but if you aren’t then let me explain. Cancel culture is a culture where a group of people will try and expose someone’s wrongdoing in order to shame them, and often even get that person fired, or “cancelled.” For example, book author J.K. Rowling was cancelled recently for giving her opinion on transgender rights that people thought was unacceptable.

Just A Hairstyle

Now you might think, “Oh so some people on the internet think you’re wrong, so what?” And I would agree if it was just that, people on the internet. But it’s not limited to just the internet. Oftentimes this mob will do things to ruin the person’s life. For example, about a year ago, a teenage girl was cancelled on twitter for posting a “racist” screenshot of her avatar in a game. She was sent a barrage of insults, threats, and even death threats. 

This screenshot must be pretty scathing then, right? Nope, all this was done because her white avatar had a hairstyle that was considered ethnic. Now whether or not this was racist is not what I want to debate; however, we can agree that you shouldn’t send death threats to a teen girl just because of a hair style in a game!

Great Power With No Great Responsibility

Back in January, then president Donald Trump was banned from Twitter for “inciting violence on January 6th.” In addition, Twitter had also removed a tweet made by the Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari, simply because it was considered “offensive.” Now why is this worrying? Because whatever you think of these leaders, it sets a precedent that these sites can have the power to censor political figures. And that’s a problem no matter what your political leanings are.

Imagine a future where government officials get picked not by the people, but by a few media corporations. That is the future we’re heading towards if nothing is done to prevent this censorship.

Most people get their news through social media, that’s simply a fact, but it creates a rather worrying dynamic. Unlike regular news, where you decide what you’ll hear, social media has A.I. algorithms that decide what to show you . All well and good, right? Well yes, until someone has an interest in the information people are getting. 

The problem is that these can be tampered with. They can be coded to exclude certain types of information or push more of a certain agenda.

That’s the problem. These social media corporations have the power to decide what people know. They have the ability to exclude information that potentially would change someone’s vote or beliefs. And if that doesn’t work, it gets removed.

What Can Be Done?

So what can we do to solve these problems? Well, there are two things that can be done.

First, legislation can be passed that either prohibits or, more realistically, restricts what government officials can be censored for.

Second, people should be encouraged to look deeper when they hear about someone getting cancelled. This would help decrease the amount of people who get cancelled over false accusations.

As for right now, I’m afraid there’s not much to do, but that doesn’t mean the future is hopeless.