Social Media: Today
I think one of the most influential pieces of the internet is the power social media holds. At this point in time, any user of social media can post their content within seconds, and with that comes the rapid-fire of views, reposts, and commentary from anyone across the globe. I believe with the first amendments right to the freedom of speech, the public should have the ability to post anything they want so long as it does not cause serious harm. When looking at social media regulation, I look back on the presidential election results of 2020. When seeing posts from former president Donald Trump and current president Joe Biden, there were warnings of “false claims” of winning the election under any posts by the political opponents on social handles such as Twitter and Instagram. I believe that still to this day because of the early election claiming, people still are fighting over who really won. In this case, I think it should be illegal for anyone running for office to claim a win before official results are out to the public, as it spreads false information. But political propaganda isn’t the only thing being restricted. Many people, including myself last year noticed there was a trend for plus-sized women to be restricted, but not other girls on TikTok when wearing bathing suits. Many people felt this was the social media deliberately targeting a specific body type they didn’t feel was ideal. As a result, there was a major backlash towards the app for discriminating against the community. Eventually, TikTok removed this ban, but it still was disheartening to see that a social media company felt it was needed to curate feed to a certain weight standard, especially given that generally the platform is praised for its overall diversity.
With regard to tech companies, we often underestimate the power they hold over us. I don’t believe they should be broken up, but I do think they should not have as much access to our personal information as they do. An example is Instagram having Safari history or Facebook knowing what’s in someone's shopping cart to create specific ads. Though the corporations may think it’s helpful to consumers, it can feel slightly unsettling that the user is actually the one being used.
A common debate is how social justice and human rights can be affected by social media. I strongly believe that if someone had the ability to post, that right should not be taken away. Social media has a tremendous amount of potential to connect people from everywhere and it's important that the right to post is seen as a human right (so long as it is not directly causing harm). As we see social media can often promote good things, such as raising funds and overall awareness quickly to many. I often look back at how in 2019, I had no idea about the Black Lives Matter movement, but now it's all I see on Instagram in 2020–2021. It is truly inspiring to see how powerful this movement has gotten as more people support the cause as they gain enlightenment. I don’t believe I will change anything I post on social media, as I will continue to spread awareness for social causes I am passionate about, and I encourage others to do so. If we have the right to free speech, we may as well have the right to post.
