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The true face of Social Media
Social Media is an indispensable aspect of modern society. Apparently, it gives freedom of speech and contributes to a democratic society. It gives people an opportunity to have a voice in government and offers freedom of expression and free sharing of information. Yet it has produced negative impacts, and the free sharing of information is linked with a number of issues when it comes to freedom, civilization, and democracy. This paper seeks to explain the negative impacts of social media in these areas in light of views of Standage, Radcliffe, and Blum. Because the power of social media is in the hands of people, it is ineffective for attaining freedom, democracy, and civilization.
Standage, Radcliffe, and Blum have shared their views on the role of social media and its impacts the areas under consideration. All the articles present a successful claim that how the age of internet marked with social media fails to provide democracy and freedom of speech and shapes civilization. Tom Standage in the article “History Retweets Itself” examines the role of social media on freedom of speech. He claims that social media not only gives freedom for sharing bad ideas but also promote negative things. Dana Radcliffe in the article "Dashed Hopes: Why Aren't Social Media Delivering Democracy?" Through social media countries like Tunisia, Egypt and Lybia failed to establish democracy depicting the ineffectiveness of social media. Susan D. Blum in "The United States of (Non) Reading - The End of Civilization or a New Era?" The argument states that dependence on the Internet has undermined the concept of reading in youth. The three authors in their arguments are addressing youth and students who are addicted to social media. The purpose is to inform them about the negative impacts of social media.
Free media does not mean a free society. Social media does not pave ways for the achievement of democracy. Dana makes an argument that the purpose of using social media in the Arab spring was to unite against dictatorship and gain freedom. The reality was different because these countries failed to attain democracy. Radcliffe mentions, “With the qualified exception of Tunisia, Arab Spring did not transform dictatorship into democracies” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"9ABLxROY","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Dashed Hopes: Why Aren\\uc0\\u8217{}t Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost})","plainCitation":"(Dashed Hopes: Why Aren’t Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":80,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/W346C6PF"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/W346C6PF"],"itemData":{"id":80,"type":"webpage","title":"Dashed Hopes: Why Aren't Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost","URL":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-radcliffe/dashed-hopes-why-arent-so_b_8343082.html","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Dashed Hopes: Why Aren’t Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost). She further argues that democracy cannot be achieved until people are equal and share the same interests. Although social media united people on a common platform, it could not transform their personal interests. Standane also expresses his concerns about the misuse of social media. He mentions, "racism, sexism, bigotry, incivility, and ignorance abound in many online discussion forums” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"5vg99HS7","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked})","plainCitation":"(Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":82,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/63U4P847"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/63U4P847"],"itemData":{"id":82,"type":"webpage","title":"Social media: history retweets itself - spiked","URL":"https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/10/31/social-media-history-retweets-itself/","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked). The platform allows certain groups to engage in unproductive and unnecessary discussions that do not reflect the themes of freedom of expression. The misinformation on social media also pava challenges for election on social media platforms ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"GbKa3Oum","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Meyer-Resende)","plainCitation":"(Meyer-Resende)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":85,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/KDISVKBB"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/KDISVKBB"],"itemData":{"id":85,"type":"article-journal","title":"A New Frontier - Social Media/Networks, Disinformation and Public International Law in the Context of Election Observation","page":"22","source":"Zotero","language":"en","author":[{"family":"Meyer-Resende","given":"Michael"}]}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Meyer-Resende).
If social media were a platform, which allows people to express themselves politically then there, would have been no chance of bullying or threatening. According to By Samidh Chakrabarti, Product Manager, Civic Engagement on Facebook shares a story of government harassment. A citizen after sharing the video critical to authorities got a visit from the police for his tax compliance. This shows the states and governments use their power to intimate their critics putting a chilling effect to Facebook freedom of speech ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"2ZZxd09n","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Hard Questions: What Effect Does Social Media Have on Democracy? | Facebook Newsroom})","plainCitation":"(Hard Questions: What Effect Does Social Media Have on Democracy? | Facebook Newsroom)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":76,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/U3CG5Q2S"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/U3CG5Q2S"],"itemData":{"id":76,"type":"webpage","title":"Hard Questions: What Effect Does Social Media Have on Democracy? | Facebook Newsroom","URL":"https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/01/effect-social-media-democracy/","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Hard Questions: What Effect Does Social Media Have on Democracy? | Facebook Newsroom). The political power of social media is in the hands of the people who hold them. Standane claims that social media don't guarantee that freedom of expression is used for a good idea only. There are equal chances for exploitation.
Standage mentions, “Greater freedom of expression, means that bad ideas will proliferate as well as good ones, but it also means that bad ideas are more likely to be challenged” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"bZnGpEOs","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked})","plainCitation":"(Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":82,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/63U4P847"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/63U4P847"],"itemData":{"id":82,"type":"webpage","title":"Social media: history retweets itself - spiked","URL":"https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/10/31/social-media-history-retweets-itself/","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked). Access to such platforms empowers certain groups who can use freedom of expression for promoting hatred or chaos. Dana claims that groups or government can control social media that will again undermine the notion of democracy. Dana claims social media is a "power to inform or misinform people, to engage or manipulate, to mobilize or control” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"8WqnDxud","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked})","plainCitation":"(Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":82,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/63U4P847"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/63U4P847"],"itemData":{"id":82,"type":"webpage","title":"Social media: history retweets itself - spiked","URL":"https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/10/31/social-media-history-retweets-itself/","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked). The statement depicts that social media is an effective tool that can be used for misleading people. The events of the twenty-first century indicate that social media has me manipulated by certain groups or politicians for specific interests.
According to Susan D. Blum, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Notre Dame states how youth have stopped reading and they are relying on the free information available on the internet. With an excess of everything in a click students do not even buy, the books required in a particular course. Short items on websites encourage students to skip book reading. students in the current era have many reasons to avoid reading ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"R0NI4iBr","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost})","plainCitation":"(The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":78,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/MXXPV6TR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/MXXPV6TR"],"itemData":{"id":78,"type":"webpage","title":"The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost","URL":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-d-blum/united-states-of-nonreading_b_4066244.html","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost). Contents are available in short forms that consume less time. Students prefer to read plots or summaries to save time for playing to other activities. Blum mentions, “So if students are sipping text constantly on their devices, and suddenly they are asked to consume what sounds like an insurmountable mountain of pages in some other form — and for what!? They are likely to avoid it entirely” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"PdM92XQO","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost})","plainCitation":"(The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":78,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/MXXPV6TR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/MXXPV6TR"],"itemData":{"id":78,"type":"webpage","title":"The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost","URL":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-d-blum/united-states-of-nonreading_b_4066244.html","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost). They are convinced that relying on devices is a better choice because it saves time. Everyone is thus willing to skip reading for spending time on leisure activities. Blum has criticized the role of technology due to its adversarial impacts on the youth.
Social media cause more harm than benefits to society. Although the purpose of social media is to empower people but is used for negative things. Standane claims, Twitter allows anyone to send threats or abuse directly to other users. These platforms are more commonly used for criticizing others that promote emotions of hatred. Dana mentions, “current use of social media favors affinity over engagement, expression over the debate, silence over a disagreement, dogmatism over compromise and towards opponents, disdain over-respect" ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"5xXlsQ3O","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}Dashed Hopes: Why Aren\\uc0\\u8217{}t Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost})","plainCitation":"(Dashed Hopes: Why Aren’t Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":80,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/W346C6PF"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/W346C6PF"],"itemData":{"id":80,"type":"webpage","title":"Dashed Hopes: Why Aren't Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost","URL":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-radcliffe/dashed-hopes-why-arent-so_b_8343082.html","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Dashed Hopes: Why Aren’t Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost). The authors argue that social media is unsafe because it gives the right of disrespecting and humiliating anyone. Technology has discouraged students from reading. Blum argues that the students are less likely to spend time on reading when they Blum states, “ almost 19 percent don’t read for class, in terms of time, 94 percent of students spend less than two hours on any given reading for class, 62 percent spend less than an hour” ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"gIiLS42T","properties":{"formattedCitation":"({\\i{}The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost})","plainCitation":"(The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":78,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/MXXPV6TR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/svENvmyw/items/MXXPV6TR"],"itemData":{"id":78,"type":"webpage","title":"The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost","URL":"https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-d-blum/united-states-of-nonreading_b_4066244.html","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2019",2,21]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost) .Dana claims that internet involves more adversaries than benefits. The time students spend on productive activities is less than the time they spend on ruthless commenting.
The three showcase the negative aspects of social media and it’s a true face in the name of democracy and freedom of speech. They prove that the Internet and social media are impractical tools for attaining freedom, democracy, and civilization. Social media has some positives, but it is not reasonable to say that they outweigh negatives. If it provides a platform to share information, it spreads misinformation and corrodes democracy. The central arguments highlight the negative implications of the internet and social media. Standane proves that freedom of expression is promoting harmful activities like sexism and bigotry. Dana assures that social media does not guarantee democracy. Blum through examining reading activities confirms adversarial causes of the internet. In short, the internet and social media have changed the attitudes of youth by engaging them in unsafe activities.
Changes and Revision
Introduction and a better overview of the essay
Re-arrangement of information in order to support thesis points one by one
Expansion by giving an example of Facebook political harassment
Addition of external sources to back up the argument.
Explanation of the paragraphs to make it easy for the reader to understand
Works Cited
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Dashed Hopes: Why Aren’t Social Media Delivering Democracy? | HuffPost. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-radcliffe/dashed-hopes-why-arent-so_b_8343082.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2019.
Hard Questions: What Effect Does Social Media Have on Democracy? | Facebook Newsroom. https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/01/effect-social-media-democracy/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2019.
Meyer-Resende, Michael. A New Frontier - Social Media/Networks, Disinformation and Public International Law in the Context of Election Observation. p. 22.
Social Media: History Retweets Itself - Spiked. https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/10/31/social-media-history-retweets-itself/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2019.
The United States of (Non)Reading: The End of Civilization or a New Era? | HuffPost. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-d-blum/united-states-of-nonreading_b_4066244.html. Accessed 21 Feb. 2019.
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