Are Social Media exploiting our Social Capital?

This assignment asks you to assess whether and how social media have changed the function and purpose of sharing and who gets to reap the social benefits of this.

Start by defining the key values and meanings associated with sharing. Why have most societies maintained a culture of sharing throughout history? What benefits does it provide and for whom? In what ways can these benefits be considered “social capital”? Here you need to consider the value of trust, friendship, collaboration and connections with other people. How do they help us to achieve our goals and to live well, both as individuals and as a society?

Then move on to evaluate how the fact that most sharing takes place on social media today affects the social capital we can acquire? Make sure you properly define social capital using the course readings and discuss who gets to bear the fruits from the knowledge, trust, confidence and the senses of community and belonging we build by exchanging things with others? And how evenly are these benefits (social capital) distributed and shared?

Social capital operates on the premise that our investment in relations with others helps us to better achieve our goals and to further our own interests and aspirations. How much control do we actually have over the kind of social capital we can generate through online social networks? Who sets the terms and conditions for what and how we share and for our ability to benefit from it?

The term “exploiting” in the essay question wants you to address whether the control and the financial gains Facebook, Twitter, Google and others have is justifiable and legitimate. Make sure to address this in your conclusion. But be careful to not draw a doomsday scenario here, where we are all slaves of media companies. Think broader and consider whether the social capital we invest in social media makes us effective shareholders of these companies. If so, what rights and control can we legitimately claim on the basis of this investment?

Make sure to support your argument with relevant quotes (minimum 3) and examples from the course materials (slides & readings).

Format: Blogpost on Medium

Length: 800 words

Due: Feb 12th, 10 a.m.