It’s Not Illegal, It’s Just Toxic
Social media is a double-edges sword, it has the power to do real good, but also the power to hurt.
Social media has provided people with the opportunity to show their personal lives. We can share the good things in our lives with others, share interesting things and inspire our passion for a brighter life. It allows friends we don’t often contact to know what we’re up to and stay in touch. Through the dynamics we post, others on social media can easily get to know each other and maintain friendships, regardless of time or place. Social media believes that the market for teenagers is greater than the market for children, but it’s worth thinking about using it wisely and safely. Simultaneously, the negative impact of social media cannot be ignored.
The sharp edge of a double-edged sword
With the rise in popularity of social networking sites in societies and communities, people become isolated and fragmented. Young people are more receptive to this change, and they are willing to spend most of their time on these sites. This situation has terrible consequences for their physical and mental health. In addition, families are primarily affected by this, and their social ties no longer exist in contemporary times. People are becoming more and more addicted to these sites, and their social activities are becoming less and less. The relationship between propaganda and fake news has created many personal and social dilemmas.
However, the worst part is that social media and platforms have a much more negative impact on teenagers, especially young girls. According to internal studies retrieved by Frances Haugen, 13.5% of teenage girls said Instagram made suicidal thoughts worse; 17% said Instagram made eating disorders worse. Meanwhile, some teenage girls also say that when they feel bad about their bodies, Instagram makes them feel worse. There are all kinds of people on social media platforms who show their beautiful lives or share their favorite recipes with everyone. But there are always people who are spreading information that hurts others.
Rina, a teenager, living in southeastern Russia, posted a selfie on Nov. 22, 2015. In the selfie, she is sticking her middle finger up at the camera, and the next day, she took her own life. The infamous Blue Whale Challenge was popular among teenagers a few years ago. The unhealthy information disseminated by the Blue Whale Challenge can make immature teenagers curious and lead to the wrong direction. This case is also a reminder that parents should restrict the information their children are exposed to and prevent these tragedies.
Who did Section 230 protect?
Facebook has warned about the way their platform is being used in developing countries. This is because of the large and growing user base in developing countries. Some employees indicated that traffickers in the Middle East use the site to lure women into abusive employment situations, and armed groups in Ethiopia use the site to incite violence against minorities.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which was passed in 1996, says an “interactive computer service” can’t be treated as the publisher or speaker of third-party content. This protects websites from lawsuits if a user posts something illegal, although there are exceptions for copyright violations, sex work-related material, and violations of federal criminal law.
-- 47 U.S. Code § 230 — Protection for private blocking and screening of offensive material
Obviously, this regulation protects the interests of social media sites and does not consider the impact this practice will have on society. Removing fake information, monitor and censoring information is a direction they need to focus on improving. Another piece of information that Frances Haugen revealed, that even a company like Facebook, which has the best social media platform, may only act as little as 3–5% of hate and about 6-tenths of 1% of violence and incitement. These violent and hateful posts are affecting the mental health of people and youth, and social platforms are not making mistakes.
It’s not illegal, it’s just toxic
My humble opinion is that section 230 is a regulation that needs to be considered for repeal. When there are too many negative influences and misinformation on a social platform, the censorship of the platform needs to be improved. When users post messages on social media platforms that advocate violence and hate, all the media need to do is increase their monitoring efforts and keep the toxic messages to a minimum. Creating a healthy and safe online environment depends not only on the Internet users themselves.
Creating a healthy and safe online environment depends not only on users themselves but also on the regulation of media platforms. In other words, if a user posts information on social media that should not be there, the social media platform should immediately take action and be accountable for it — both the user and the employees of the media platform should be held responsible. Ignoring issues on social media platforms when you know they exist doesn’t solve the problem; identifying them and correcting them in time can really solve the problem. A responsible social platform needs to listen to people’s voices and make corrections from them.
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Originally published at Medium@Aubrey Wang on Oct. 31, 2021.
