Social Media is for Idiots.
Strap in kids we’re about to get political.
With the dawn of the digital age, anyone with an internet connection gained a platform that allowed voices and opinions of individuals to be spread en masse with ease. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc were all ways of people communicating with the outside world and provided a way to exchange ideas and debate with people who you disagree with. Communication with both friends and strangers across the globe has never been easier.
In an ideal world, that would be true, but the unfortunate reality is that if you post something online that some people disagree with, you’re bound to have at least some comments that are idiotic, abusive or downright illogical. That, combined with the circulation of so called ‘facts’ online both through the dishonesty of some social media users trying to push an agenda and through Facebook pages like ‘Weird Facts’. And then there is ‘shitposters’, hanging around sites like 4Chan, Reddit and Tumblr like predictors waiting to pounce at their unsuspecting victims. There’s also an unprecedented amount of idiots out there: just look at Jaden Smith’s Twitter account.
Now, while anyone who falls for the vast quantities of misinformation posted to social media is indeed an idiot, as is anyone who engages in flame-wars with trolls and morons, there are worse things about social media. The darkest thing being people setting up fake accounts to lure children and young adults somewhere to be sexually assaulted and murdered, and private information being leaked by hackers. But perhaps the least talked about problem with social media is the most damning in modern democratic societies: censorship.
For years, people have made money off of content that they post on YouTube provided they had enough views the get partnered with either YouTube itself or a third party company, and that their videos were not infringing on anyone’s copyright. That changed about two months ago in what has been dubbed the ‘adPocalypse’ which was only hastened following two controversies (one in early 2016 and the other during September) about Pewdiepie, the largest content creator on the site. People’s videos have begun to be mass flagged as ‘unsuitable for monitisation’ if said video contains violence (even that in things such as video games) and ‘violent’ words, expletives and, perhaps the most worryingly, people who have the “wrong” political opinion. As a centrist I cannot agree with those YouTube censors, such as Trump supporters and members of the Alt-Right, but neither can I stand by while they continue to allow far left radicals spew hatred towards anyone who is further right than Stalin on the political spectrum or those that support terrorist organisations like Antifa and BAMN.
YouTube isn’t the only platform that is censoring conservatives. Twitter began wielding the Ban-Hammer and used it against anyone they deem to be ‘far right’ since at least 2016. The most notable and controversial case is the permanent ban of right wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. While the reason cited for Yiannopoulos’ ban is his alleged harassment of actress Leslie Jones, it is possible that he was banned for his political stance as shown by other users getting ‘shadowbanned’ from the site. And then there’s Facebook. The censoring of people holding conservative views on Facebook has become so prevalent that the term ‘Zuckerburged’ has been coined for the victims of the bans (e.g “I got Zuckerburged”).
Again, I do not agree with many of the people being banned and de-platformed. I do, however, support their right to free speech, a right that many people fought and died for and many people are still dying for in countries such as North Korea. How can so many people allow social media platforms to prevent people from using their services purely because they don’t align themselves with the “right” ideology? Everyone has the right to speak about whatever they want provided they are ready to backup and defend anything that they have to say — and deal with any trolls that appear in the comment section.
So yes, social media is for idiots. We’re all idiots for using sites that violate the rights of people who they disagree with, so far that these American companies are willing to break the first amendment of their constitution to do so. We’re idiots for letting this happen unchallenged even if those being censored are people with ideologies that clash with our own. After all, if companies and governments are granted the permission to censor whomever they desire, how long will it take before we find ourselves in some Orwellian nightmare?
With thanks to Nicole
