1. What role does social media have on an individual’s identity and how they present themselves to the world? Identify and explain at least one positive aspect or social media and identity and one negative aspect.
Social media allows for individuals to create two identities, their online one and then the one they have during direct human contact. A lot of individuals find it easier to communicate through the web and are more introverted and shy in person. The internet allows them to
present themselves as individuals who are outgoing, confident and fun but when they are in direct contact with peers they are more reserved. Although it may seem like a negative aspect since they are deceiving others, it is actually a positive. It allows for them to communicate with others in their own comfort zones and can lead to them feeling more comfortable to express themselves in direct contact. With every positive there is a negative though. There is a new word for people who fabricate online identities, they are called “catfish”. These people pretend to be people they’re not entirely over social media platforms. They usually create these false identities in hopes of pursuing online romances and are completely undesirable in comparison with the pictures they are posting. There is people who simply appear more outgoing through social media platforms they then are in person but literally creating a new identity down to using someone else’s photos is extreme.
Nelson,
Kayci. "Social 'me-dia': How social media effects identity."
Examiner.com. N.p., 18 June 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
< http://www.examiner.com/article/social-me-dia-how-social-media-effects-identity>.
Peterson,
Hayley. "'Catfishing:' The phenomenon of Internet scammers who fabricate online
identities and entire social circles to trick people into romantic
relationships." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. .
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2264053/Catfishing-The-phenomenon-Internet-scammers-fabricate-online-identities-entire-social-circles-trick-people-romantic-relationships.html.
2. Reviewing the role social media has on politics, social activism and security, identify and explain at least two examples of how social media is increasing accountability or governments or people around the world.
In terms of politics, social media increases the accountability of governments. Every post that is published by governmental organizations will be closely examined and will reach a high number of viewers therefore the government has a strong responsibility to pay close attention to every single post they make. If they post derogatory statements or photos that will impact their image negatively. They aren’t the only ones that need to be extremely careful when making posts over social medias. People around the world need to
think what they’re going to post before they post it as well. In the past few months alone we have seen 2 cases where a single tweet affected the lives of so many people. This past December a PR exec lost her job for sending out a careless tweet about AIDS in Africa. Her statement did not reflect the views and values of the company she worked for and this resulted in her losing her job. Mid April, a 14 year old Dutch girl was arrested for tweeting a bomb threat to an airline. It was a joke to her but not to an airline which had airplane
hijacked on 9/11. Posting terrorist threats is not something to be taken lightly nor is it something to joke about. Through these 2 cases, we can see how social media can be used to reinforce security. It does not only increase the accountability of governments but of everyone in the world due to the fact that individuals can be arrested or lose their jobs because of careless statements or threats/illegal actions that have been delivered through social media.
Stelter, Brian. "'Ashamed': Ex-PR exec Justine Sacco apologizes for AIDS in
Africa tweet." CNN. Cable News Network, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/22/world/sacco-offensive-tweet/>.
Dewey, Caitlin. "If you think the American Airline bomb tweets are ‘satire,’ you
don’t understand what satire is." Washington Post. The Washington Post,
15 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/04/15/if-you-think-the-american-airline-bomb-tweets-are-satire-you-dont-understand-what-satire-is/.
3. Using the concept of the surveillance society or cyber-bullying, explain social media’s role in either concept, the impacts it is having on society and how society is changing to adapt to these new pressures.
Cyber-bullying is a form of bullying which allows people to victimize others through technology. It is using social media platforms in order to harm others. The majority of cyber bullying that occurs is with teens. More than 4 out of 10 teens have reported that they themselves have been victims of cyber-bullying. In comparison to bullying through direct contact, cyber-bullying is something that is avoidable or that you can shut out. All of these social networks have block and delete buttons and the option to shut down your accounts temporarily or forever. Society is doing nothing in order to adapt to these new pressures. Teens need to be validated so they keep downloading these apps. These sites get them the validity that they need because there is constantly people on each other’s profiles and they’re getting friend requests, likes and comments. Once something negative is posted though they allow this to hurt them drastically. It opens you up for harassment when you are putting yourself so far out there. If you are going to have social medias you should adjust your privacy settings so that only people that you know personally can see your posts, photos, etc. If people are leaving negative comments or posts you can easily remove them and avoid further issues. You can avoid cyber-bullying entirely by keeping your accounts private or by avoiding using these platforms completely. While social medias do allow for cyber-bullying they have benefited people and even if they were shut down people would still be bullied directly on a day to day basis.
"Cyber-bullying
Growing Problem." KTRH. N.p., 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
< http://www.ktrh.com/articles/houston-news-121300/cyberbullying-growing-problem-12270836>.
Wallace, Kelly. "Parents, beware of bullying on sites you've never seen."
CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Jan. 1970. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
< http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/10/living/parents-new-apps-bullying/>.
Social media allows for individuals to create two identities, their online one and then the one they have during direct human contact. A lot of individuals find it easier to communicate through the web and are more introverted and shy in person. The internet allows them to
present themselves as individuals who are outgoing, confident and fun but when they are in direct contact with peers they are more reserved. Although it may seem like a negative aspect since they are deceiving others, it is actually a positive. It allows for them to communicate with others in their own comfort zones and can lead to them feeling more comfortable to express themselves in direct contact. With every positive there is a negative though. There is a new word for people who fabricate online identities, they are called “catfish”. These people pretend to be people they’re not entirely over social media platforms. They usually create these false identities in hopes of pursuing online romances and are completely undesirable in comparison with the pictures they are posting. There is people who simply appear more outgoing through social media platforms they then are in person but literally creating a new identity down to using someone else’s photos is extreme.
Nelson,
Kayci. "Social 'me-dia': How social media effects identity."
Examiner.com. N.p., 18 June 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
< http://www.examiner.com/article/social-me-dia-how-social-media-effects-identity>.
Peterson,
Hayley. "'Catfishing:' The phenomenon of Internet scammers who fabricate online
identities and entire social circles to trick people into romantic
relationships." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. .
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2264053/Catfishing-The-phenomenon-Internet-scammers-fabricate-online-identities-entire-social-circles-trick-people-romantic-relationships.html.
2. Reviewing the role social media has on politics, social activism and security, identify and explain at least two examples of how social media is increasing accountability or governments or people around the world.
In terms of politics, social media increases the accountability of governments. Every post that is published by governmental organizations will be closely examined and will reach a high number of viewers therefore the government has a strong responsibility to pay close attention to every single post they make. If they post derogatory statements or photos that will impact their image negatively. They aren’t the only ones that need to be extremely careful when making posts over social medias. People around the world need to
think what they’re going to post before they post it as well. In the past few months alone we have seen 2 cases where a single tweet affected the lives of so many people. This past December a PR exec lost her job for sending out a careless tweet about AIDS in Africa. Her statement did not reflect the views and values of the company she worked for and this resulted in her losing her job. Mid April, a 14 year old Dutch girl was arrested for tweeting a bomb threat to an airline. It was a joke to her but not to an airline which had airplane
hijacked on 9/11. Posting terrorist threats is not something to be taken lightly nor is it something to joke about. Through these 2 cases, we can see how social media can be used to reinforce security. It does not only increase the accountability of governments but of everyone in the world due to the fact that individuals can be arrested or lose their jobs because of careless statements or threats/illegal actions that have been delivered through social media.
Stelter, Brian. "'Ashamed': Ex-PR exec Justine Sacco apologizes for AIDS in
Africa tweet." CNN. Cable News Network, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/22/world/sacco-offensive-tweet/>.
Dewey, Caitlin. "If you think the American Airline bomb tweets are ‘satire,’ you
don’t understand what satire is." Washington Post. The Washington Post,
15 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2014/04/15/if-you-think-the-american-airline-bomb-tweets-are-satire-you-dont-understand-what-satire-is/.
3. Using the concept of the surveillance society or cyber-bullying, explain social media’s role in either concept, the impacts it is having on society and how society is changing to adapt to these new pressures.
Cyber-bullying is a form of bullying which allows people to victimize others through technology. It is using social media platforms in order to harm others. The majority of cyber bullying that occurs is with teens. More than 4 out of 10 teens have reported that they themselves have been victims of cyber-bullying. In comparison to bullying through direct contact, cyber-bullying is something that is avoidable or that you can shut out. All of these social networks have block and delete buttons and the option to shut down your accounts temporarily or forever. Society is doing nothing in order to adapt to these new pressures. Teens need to be validated so they keep downloading these apps. These sites get them the validity that they need because there is constantly people on each other’s profiles and they’re getting friend requests, likes and comments. Once something negative is posted though they allow this to hurt them drastically. It opens you up for harassment when you are putting yourself so far out there. If you are going to have social medias you should adjust your privacy settings so that only people that you know personally can see your posts, photos, etc. If people are leaving negative comments or posts you can easily remove them and avoid further issues. You can avoid cyber-bullying entirely by keeping your accounts private or by avoiding using these platforms completely. While social medias do allow for cyber-bullying they have benefited people and even if they were shut down people would still be bullied directly on a day to day basis.
"Cyber-bullying
Growing Problem." KTRH. N.p., 21 Apr. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
< http://www.ktrh.com/articles/houston-news-121300/cyberbullying-growing-problem-12270836>.
Wallace, Kelly. "Parents, beware of bullying on sites you've never seen."
CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Jan. 1970. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
< http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/10/living/parents-new-apps-bullying/>.