Piers Morgan and the dark side of Social Media
Social Media. It’s something we all are aware of and that most of us use. Facebook alone has 2.38 billion active users, and that is just one platform out of many. At any given moment in time, there will be billions of accounts active and online, so it’s not a surprise that our online presence has come a long way, and the impact of humans on the digital society is higher than ever.
Something that has resonated with me since the beginning of the Digital Society course is what James Sumner said in one of the first lectures; the internet was never created for commercial use. Yet, we are now all a product of our own creation. The development of social media has revolutionised our digital world, and a lack of engagement within these platforms is now near impossible. This brand new society which we have created comes with its down-sides, yet we as digital citizens fail to recognise these. The dark side of social media is more relevant now than ever.
To fully explore the dark side of social media, a recognition of why it is so popular is necessary. Social media, as a byproduct of the development of the internet, is a platform for connectivity, interaction and communication. It has recently exploded into a mass of diverse yet interconnected websites that allow users to create online communities. Applications on phones allow this connection to be 24/7 with access to social media wherever you go.
The benefits of social media go beyond just interconnectivity. Development of a new community with little hierarchy is revolutionary. Expression of opinions becomes easier, and the focus on individuality among these online communities is greater than ever.
“we will create a civilisation of the Mind in Cyberspace; may it be more humane and fairer than the world your governments have made before” — John Perry Barlow
Living within a digital world is incredible, the feeling of connectivity whenever you log onto a social media platform is unparalleled. Putting power into the individual is a brand new, and revolutionary idea. Becoming a more humane and fairer space, as described by John Perry Barlow seems realistic in such a diverse new area of society. Doesn’t it?
This is where you need to consider the negatives.
Of course, nothing is perfect. The ease of connectivity through social media may be incredible, and becoming a part of the digital world seems like an easy choice, right? At least for me this was true. But, by looking at Piers Morgan and his presence on twitter, it became clear that it really isn’t as simple as that.
Social media presents a lot more than its face value. It isn’t just a platform for connectivity and integration. It’s a method of digital engagement, a tool for insult. Ethical considerations online are a lot easier to avoid due to the lack of policing. This ‘digital society’ is, to me, growing further away from the John Perry Barlow’s original concept.
Although this post is not specifically about him, Piers Morgan is a good example of the dark side of social media, and highlights the implications that are beginning to arise from living in our digital world. Following his career as editor of the Daily Mirror being cut short for using fake pictures on an article, he now uses twitter as a platform to post his opinions.
The issue with social media is that although it is meant to facilitate connectivity, it often creates isolation for those who just wanted to be part of the interconnectedness. With 6.64 million followers on Twitter, Piers Morgan highlights the issues with having a wider audience. His use of insult and consistent ‘trend’ of being transphobic has had no impact on the views and comments he gains. Unfortunately online, the boundaries between opinions and insult are virtually non-existent. It is very easy to become a ‘keyboard warrior’.
Following Chris Millson’s lecture on Digital Engagement, I began thinking about how social media is monitored yet not policed. It is common knowledge now that social media sites monitor us and collect our information — yet people are allowed to post harmful comments within online communities with little consequence. Piers was fired for portraying false information that was classed as ‘harmful’ within mainstream media, yet his twitter account, which also contains harmful information, is still active. Other influencers, such as Katie Hopkins, have employed similar techniques previously, using insulting tones online.
The current use of social media as a method of attention seeking by being ‘controversial’ is harmful, and is directly affecting the digital society that we have created. The implications of such speech are massive, with suicide rates in young people experiencing cyber-bullying doubling in likelihood. Isolation within online communities is not rare, and seeing harmful things on social media can have severe impacts on young people. Implications of our new digital world, therefore, go beyond damaging the society we have created, and has been shown to damage mental health.
By joining social media, you expect to join a community of people sharing ideas and communicating. But instead you are exposed to so much more. As digital citizens we need to take responsibility for our digital voice, as well as our real voice. Opinions are allowed but hate speech and insult should not be. The division between digital and reality is blurring, and for our digital world to become what it was designed to be, people need to recognise this.
I have completely immersed myself within our digital society, as have many of you reading this, but only recently have I been able to take a step back and explore the problems with it. Our digital world is no more humane than reality itself, and the implications and impact of this new digital world are only just becoming apparent.
Reflection
Before joining the digital society course, I was a passive consumer of all things digital. I always wanted the newest technology, getting the brand new phones, signing up to the brand new software immediately. Technology and the new digital world has always been something that has excited me. However, from the modules taught during this course, I have become a lot more aware with the issues of having a digital world.
As soon as I was allowed, I created a profile on almost every social media site, and never worried about privacy issues. Since learning about the privacy issues within the digital engagement lecture, I have become more conscious of what I post and share around my social media platforms. I have also began deleting the less used applications and profiles to limit my online footprint. The scary part about this, though, is the lack of awareness into the privacy violations that are ongoing. Although many people possibly wouldn’t care, the fact that many don’t know the implications of joining this digital society is worrying.
The thing is that, as I have learned, our digital society is evolving at a rapid rate. The autonomy of the internet, with inventions such as AI assistants have taken off. Although it has been interesting to learn about this digital world through this course, I have also recognised that this only scrapes the surface of how our digital society is developing. Online specific cultures have began to emerge through social media, and these are something that I find fascinating. Even the concept of becoming ‘vlogger’ as a full-time job is something that would lack possibility without the use of the internet. The constant development of our online world is incredible, and definitely something that I am excited for.
The thing that I found the most difficult when studying our digital society is the complete change of perspective that it has brought me. The fact that I was so oblivious to many of these concepts really took me by surprise, especially due to the fact that I felt I always kept up to date with technology. However, it has definitely taught me that I need to be less accepting and more critical when using the internet, and although this was hard for me to grasp, it is a very important development for me.
Something that has really intrigued me, especially given the recent climate change activism, is the idea of smart cities. Although they are recognised as more sustainable, I wonder whether these approaches will develop and become more common, or whether a simpler type of city will begin to re-emerge. Even so, the future of our digital world is exciting, and I look forward to continue learning about these topics as they progress.
