Free Expression and Social Media
In the Eight Values of Free Expression, number Six is one I believe we as a society need to take a long, hard look at right now. Value Six is "Promote Tolerance". One of the reasons we do not have laws against things such as "hate speech", is to promote greater tolerance for such things among the people of our society. Not having specific laws against such things encourages us to collectively decide what is acceptable and what is not acceptable, without going beyond the reasonable limit for "punishment". Aside from a few exception which are relatively clear (shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre being the prime example), one cannot be thrown in jail simply for saying something. Because of this, it more or less forces us to all grow thicker skin and either outright ignore what was said, or in blunt terms, "teach them a lesson". However, things like this have been taken way too far on social media platforms. Nowadays people's entire lives can be ruined for the smallest things. It can range from something stupid they said 10-20 years ago and even to simply disagreeing with someone. both of these have been deemed worthy of "burning" one's name, career, and all other aspects of social life. This is incredibly dangerous to the very foundation of how we function as a society. If everything we say has the potential to offend someone and destroy our life, then why would we ever both to speak at all. Why bother trying to introduce a new perspective or idea if all it is going to lead to is our life being ruined forever. One of the reasons we have the first amendment, is to allow the spread of ideas, even the bad. So again, we can collectively decide as a society, and even on the individual level, decide which are the good ideas and which are the bad. But even then, more often than not, just because someone has a bad idea or at least seems to, that does not warrant total destruction. If we can't spread new ideas, discuss said ideas, or eve make jokes anymore for fear of someone ruining us, then we have no hope for the future. As great as social media is, for allowing us to easily connect with others, it has brought with it numerous problems that need to be solved.
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