Technology has allowed humankind to move into the future and connect in ways that were never imaginable. Instead of writing letters, people can send text messages that are received within seconds; news and the way people respond to these updates has changed drastically with technology as well. The rapid growth and use of social media has allowed people to unite themselves on common ground all over the world. It is possible for a citizen of Egypt suffering from riots to send Tweets of solidarity to people in Ferguson dealing with tear gas and violence. However, with this growth there is an increased need for moderation of what is displayed on the internet and whether it is still considered free speech even when it contains threatening words. With this, social media providers have faced backlash from law enforcement on how they should be monitoring and allowing the anonymity on their websites and what is published on these domains. Main stream media has been hindered by social media’s growth as well. With this, both the casual everyday users, as well as those who use social media as a tool for awareness, have had their access and usage potentially limited. This brings about the need to find a balance between moderation and freedom when it comes to the world of social media.
One of the major issues with regards to social media is how it can be monitored when dealing with connectivity between different groups. Social media is now an important outlet for spreading awareness of world issues and has helped increase solidarity between groups that are affected by anything from poverty to protests. However, certain people have advocated for more moderation when it comes to social media. Groups such as law enforcement, social media providers, and the mainstream media are more affected by the growing use of social media outlets. Those in law enforcement have started to turn to social media for use in investigations and for identifying potential threats; however, websites such as Twitter and Facebook do not require every member to provide verification of themselves, and this has made it harder to track potential threats and keep watch on protest movements. Also, because of the speed at which information travels on the internet, it has become harder to find original sources of threats and protest movements. In recent news, a University of Virginia student, Martese Johnson, was involved in a police altercation over the use of a fake I.D. and this altercation turned violent. Videos and pictures of this incident spread quickly over Twitter and Facebook and marches across campuses are already in the planning stages. Police are doing their best to attempt to monitor these protests as they have turned violent in the past over the incidents involving Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin.
Social media providers are facing backlash when dealing with these protest movements as well as groups, law enforcement especially, are pushing for more regulation. Many social media outlets thrive on the anonymity their sites can bring as it allows people to potentially connect better with others, but with the constant push to regulate this privilege it is becoming harder for them to back down. The fact that social media is a public sphere makes it even more difficult. Many websites terms and conditions remind users that what the post is no longer part of their own private ownership and that, if requested, police and other law enforcement can access the information stored on these websites without warrants even with supposedly “private” security settings. Other times social media outlets will remove posts altogether if they become too controversial.
The mainstream media is forced to deal with the growing use of social media as well. As social media grows less people are watching the news or reading newspapers; is has become much easier to view the news in real time as opposed to having to wait until the evening, or even the next day, to know what is going on in the world. People are now able to know what is happening around the world in minutes as opposed to days. For instance, during the United States’ raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in 2011, a citizen of the city was unexpectedly live Tweeting the entire event. At first he complained about the noise, but after he found out the next day what had happened he was known world-wide. However, main stream media faces a problem when dealing with law enforcement in the affected areas. At the height of the Ferguson protests in 2014, many major news networks were banned from reporting in the cities and numerous reporters were arrested for trying to continue their broadcasts. Because of this, much of the information the public gained about the situation came from firsthand accounts from within the city itself, and even some reporters took to social media to describe their personal interactions with the police.
However social media users—both those using it for information and those