Problems of anti-social behaviour, privacy, and free speech on social media are not caused by anonymity but instead result from the way technology changes our presence.
That’s the startling conclusion of a new book by Dr Vincent Miller, a sociologist at the University and an expert on the information society and developing media. In contending that the cause of issues such as online anti-social behaviour is the design/software of social media itself, Dr Miller suggests that social media architecture needs to be managed and planned in the same way as physical architecture.
In the book, entitled The Crisis of Presence in Contemporary Culture: Ethics, Privacy and Speech in Mediated Social Life , Dr Miller examines the relationship between the freedom provided by the contemporary online world and the control, surveillance and censorship that operate in this environment. He questions the origins and sincerity of moral panics about use – and abuse – in the contemporary online environment and offers an analysis of ethics, privacy and free speech in this setting.
Investigating the ethical challenges that confront our increasingly digital culture, Dr Miller suggests a number of revisions to our ethical, legal and technological regimes to meet these challenges. These include changing what he describes as ‘dehumanising’ social media software, expanding the notion of our ‘selves’ or ‘bodies’ to include our digital traces, and the re-introduction of ‘time’ into social media through the creation of ‘expiry dates’ on social media communications.
Read more:Â Social media technology rather than anonymity is the problem
The Latest on: Social media technology
via Google News
The Latest on: Social media technology
- Businessman, 40, confesses to grooming, rape of girl,12, after social media interactionon August 4, 2022 at 11:53 pm
He confessed to the rape during the bail application telling the court that he thought she was older than 12 years old. “He also indicated he had three other girlfriends – two in Grabouw and another ...
- Quarterly compliance audit soon for social media firmson August 4, 2022 at 5:30 pm
The assessment, to be conducted by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology from September, will check compliance on various parameters including the number of grievances received by ...
- Global Social Media Ad Spend Jumps 19% Year-over-Yearon August 4, 2022 at 6:32 am
The report findings highlight a rebound in median monthly global ad spend compared to the same period last year, a decrease in the median monthly click-through rate (CTR), a slight uptick in median ...
- Limit social media exposure of 13- to 17-year-olds to 30 minutes a day – lawmakeron August 2, 2022 at 2:34 am
MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker has filed a bill before the House of Representatives aiming to limit social media exposure of minors aged 13-17 to only 30 minutes a day. Santa Rosa City Rep.
- Revealed: Why we are telling fewer lies on social mediaon August 1, 2022 at 6:10 am
Data from 2018 showed 49 per cent of people misrepresented their lives on social media but that has now fallen to 11 per cent. Meanwhile, 52 per cent lied regularly to their employers in 2018 ...
- Social Media Can No Longer Hide Its Problems in a Black Boxon July 31, 2022 at 6:02 pm
Tales of AI’s inscrutability have been exaggerated. Big Tech should prepare for regulators to peer deep inside their platforms in the near future.
- Will tech companies be held liable for teen social media addiction?on July 31, 2022 at 2:17 pm
From “thinfluencers” to widgets, the tools that fuel social media addiction are coming under fire in the California legislature.
- It’s a TikTok party: How social media helped two Phoenix businesses survive the pandemicon July 30, 2022 at 10:00 am
Blanca Ulloa and Allie Dziewulski founded their Goodyear event rental company in March 2020, just before the pandemic was declared. Jump Into Bliss focuses on bounce houses for hi ...
- How Social Media Is Changing Chronic Illnesson July 30, 2022 at 6:00 am
Today, more than half of US adults live with at least one chronic illness, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If you have a chronic illness, like heart disease, arthritis ...
- Why EU Decided Tech Giants Can’t Police Social Mediaon July 28, 2022 at 8:31 am
For all the promises from politicians to tackle online hate speech and misinformation, they continue to proliferate, polarizing societies and harming the vulnerable. Governments have been reluctant to ...
via Bing News