Academic Master

Education

How Social Media and Media leads to Crime

Introduction

Media and Social media is considered as the main aspects of communication between the people in the country. It is observed that people are influenced by the media as well as social media, and they are more towards adopting ways that have a direct impact on committing the crime in the country. Many researchers and scholars believe that the crime is basically a perception that is framed by the media and social media in the country. Social media usually portray or present the crime in a way that many of the people lose self-control, and they are being motivated towards committing the crime. In the recent decade, social media coverage in addition to the use of the media and social media have been increased to the tremendous usage that people commit suicide or other harmful acts in the country.

Many people think that the media and social media leads to the crime in the country. According to Patiwael and Valkenburg (1998) had provided their own personal perception about this topic that a number of people watching television on a daily basis have created a negative impact in their minds and the knowledge of crime is increasing passage of time. The Mass media is totally obsessed with the offense and an outnumbered people, busy in using social media discovered different ways of committing the crime. From the television to the social media sites which include Facebook, Twitter, etc. everything is acting as a positive medium for people to commit the crime. Furthermore, it is suggested that the new television provides a fear to the people and also influences the public. It is declared that in the future time the media and social media will lead to rule on the people and they will move to commit more crimes in the country. This study evaluates the impact of social media and media on the people and how it leads to committing crimes by the people. Moreover, this study will discuss different crime theories and their impact on the society.

Keywords: Criminology, Social Media, New Media, Theories on Criminology

Discussion

Thanks to the technological development and the great popularity that social networks have obtained in recent years. People have the opportunity every day to interact with an infinite number of people (known or unknown), and to establish contact with people who due to the circumstances and momentum in which they met probably would never have seen them again, as well as with their loved ones (Wilcox, and Cullen, 2018 p, 124). But what happens when networks are used in the wrong way? Despite all the benefits they give, it is inevitable that, from time to time, they will be used as a double-edged sword. Even, people can cause irreparable damage, both to person and to someone else, without even being aware of that. Many times users share content that may be offensive to some friends, or they may publish things that they consider to be disrespectful. The most advisable thing is to expose in a respectful way users’ point of view, and clarify any misinterpretation. It is also important to respect the opinions of others (Palen, and Hughes, 2018 p, 45).

Social Media and Media have been increasing over the period of time and people are more aware of using different sites and making their benefits by using different social media. It has been suggested due to the increasing rate of usage of social media and media this has to lead the people to commit crimes in the country (Hasinoff 2013, p.449). The study of mass media has been increased over the periods and people rely on commit crime in the society. The way social media and media have been popular with the passage of time it has been declared that they are more towards committing crimes in the country.

Social Media, Media and Crime

News media is the most popular and old mass medium for communicating the social impact and the news of the world to the people. As more and more official news company uses the medium of social media in order to keep in touch with the medium masses, the concept of new media has been changed (Enikolopov, Petrova & Sonin 2018, p.74). Media is defined as the information regarding the most recent events that has been reported, broadcast, monitored and edited by the professional people in the news industry. In order to quality the channels as the media it is important to be creditability, reliability and accountability in the industry. There are many platforms of the media such as television, radio stations, newspaper and the social media is restricted to the internet sites, blogs, social networking websites and the use of the social networking applications have been categorised as the media mass (Taylor 2002 , p.12) .

The social media platforms are changing day by day and there are new emerging people who are mobbing towards the adoption of social media as the way of changing the trends of the people in leading a sustainable life in the country (Sampson 2018, p. 113). Social media is basically the way of communication that has been made between the people through different mediums such as websites, electronic devices and the applications and thus it allows the people to participate and the moderation is being carried in the social media mass in the country (O’Keeffe 2011, p.800). According to the research people tends to use the social media more than anything else and they tend to spend their lives according to the norms and the way that has been maintained or describes on the social media which has led to the crimes and many unlawful and harmful act by the people as well as its effects on the upbringing and growth of the children. Examples of social media are the Instagram, Facebook, Snap chat and many other websites that enables the people to communicate between each other in the society and it has a direct impact on the lives of the people (Palen & Hughes 2018, p. 497).

Crime is a phenomenon that has been made socially which occurs out of the view of public. Crime is referred to as the harmful act that has been committed by the people which are not according to the laws and rules and regulations of the society and people tend to be in breach of the law (Sampson 2018, p. 128). It has been observed that in recent times, people rely on the media mass and the way social media and media is playing with the psychological aspects of the people and made them to commit crime against the act of the people and society tends to come under the concept or definition of criminology. In this era, people mostly young generations are moving towards the adoption of different ways that helps them to fulfil their needs and social media has influenced the people to do a crime that will leads them to the criminal justice (Valenzuela 2012, p.319). It has been observed that the social media allows people to view different activities and the day to day routine of the people and thus people use the medium of social media in order to do a crime. The growth of performing crime has been increasing rate in the current decades and people are more towards making the use of media for investigating about the people and thus they are able to commit a crime in the society. The way media and social media portray the things and the situations in the country, it has been seen that people are more performing the crime with the same way it is being portrayed on the media and social media respectively (Enikolopov, Petrova & Sonin 2018, p.150).

Analysis of Media and Social Media to Criminology

It has been seen that people who tend to watch the television more likely are more afraid of committing a crime in the country. Typically the hours of watching the procedurals of police, violence heavy local news and courtroom dramas can lead to the people in a dramatic and fear world. In this digital media, the information that is provided on the media and social media enables the people to rely on the information and thus they begin to commit different crimes that have been influenced in this society (Fuchs 2017, p.5). It has been observed that many social media networks shows the news of the terrorism and social networking sites enables the people to have an harmful act on the people and thus they are being able to make such norms or procedure that begin them to search for the victim and made a crime. The impact of the social media is increasing among the young generations and it has been seen that people tend to make such assumptions that will be a purpose of fear among the people (Kidd & Osborne 1995, p.8). It has been observed that as the media is increasing and it is getting popular day by day so new technologies and trends are being portrayed by the person that enables to adopt different illegal actions that helps them to get the things. In this recent time, the rate of snatching and the robbery has been in increasing numbers and people tend to robber different things that have been seen on the media and they fulfil their demands with the help of doing robbery or snatching in the country. It has been suggested by many researchers that the social media has given a rise on the e-crimes in the country. Many attackers are attacking the data of the companies and in return they ask for some money in order to release the accounts and database that will lead them to fulfil the needs of leading a good life style that they have been seen on the media (Sampson 2018, p. 128).

According to recent research, many people use the social media applications such as Blue Whale game that has made many of the youngsters to commit suicide that has made through the social media and in the end of the game the user has to do suicide otherwise the data that has been provided by the user at the start of the game will be exposed and it has been observed that the rate of the suicide has been increasing over the period (Taylor 2002 , p.12). The increasing rate in the popularity of the media and the social media since the last years has made a drastic change in maintain the personal communication regarding the actions that will be performed by the people (Thornberry 2018, p.n.d.).

It has been seen that daily the users of the social networks are increasing and the social media networks has made the people not use for the purpose of communication but this has led the people to view and track the people and their presence in the society and they will be able to commit any suspicious crime in the country. The Al-Qaeda uses the media to communicate with the people and give fear through media network and they tend to hit the people through media networks which are being used as a crime in the world. Along with the use of the social media that is being adopted by many people in the society, this not only increasing the more dangerous criminals by their skills set though the medium on internet (Curran & Renzetti 2001, p.20). It has been suggested that due to the use of the social media the security has been compromised and the transferring of the data has led to the increasing rate of the high-tech criminals and white collar crimes and this has made their way to perform any harmful act. According to the research it has been seen that the gang crimes has been raised due to the social media and a group of young generation has started to commit different types of crimes in the society (Jewkes 2015, p.27). The lack of education and available resources has led to the increasing rate of the crimes which has made the people to perform crimes as an instance the Kim Kardishan has been robbed by a group of people as she has updated about her presence on the social media and the robbers get her at that place. Similarly many sexual harassment cases have been highlighted daily through the media and this has encouraged the people to perform any act of crime that has been seen on the media over the past years (Hasinoff 2013, p.449).

The recent attack that comes under the category of terrorism in Tunisia highlights more of the on-going risk regarding the terrorism in UK and across the world as well and the threat of terrorism act has been rank as the most severe in the country (Dahl 2018, p.n.d.). Social media has given a rise to the impact of the community to the terror attacks and the research shows that due to the post event strategy measures this will help to deal with the impact of the terrorism through the use of the media and social media. Social media is changing day by day and the speed of the use of media and social media has been seen in current decades and the way people react regarding the information that has been provided by the media and social media is considered as the harmful act or the criminology act that must be destructed in the country (Curran & Renzetti 2001, p.20).

Theories of Crime

Social media and media have given rise to the criminology and the act of the criminal has been seen through different theories of crime. It has been suggested that crime is not done by a person but it is being constructed socially (Palen & Hughes 2018, p. 497). Many researchers and theorist have said that theories of crime are being used by many criminals in their actions (Sampson 2018, p. 113). Labelling theory of crime is being highlighted in the criminal behaviour and it stated that people are not deviant of what they have performed. In the labelling theory the people gets label by the society as a criminal and then the people tends to perform same act of crime in the hatred and due to the society norms. According to research, the social media has given rise to the theory of hatred among the people and thus people begin to commit crime in the country. For example, a youngster has killed many people in Germany and it has been observed that the act of hatred has been shown between the victims and the criminals which has been portrayed by the media and in return many other young people are tend to do the same in the action or personal jealously in the society (O’Keeffe 2011, p.800).

Media and violence are similarly linked with each other and many people used to post their status in the terms of violent act and the actions of violence has been shown which enables them to commit different types of crimes in the country (Taylor 2002 , p.5). There are three elements of the routine activity of the criminal theory such as victim, offender and the location which has the moderator that helps them to control the condition and they are known as the controller. The offenders of the controller are known as the handler and they are the people who have the emotional bonding with the people who have offend the crimes. In many organisations that people commit crimes of fraud and robbery and theft that has led them to the justice in the courts where as it has been seen that the offenders used to offends the people through different means of social media and media (Surette 2014, p.16).

The exposure to privacy in social networks is worrisome, and the consequences this brings open a debate on the right to privacy and freedom of expression. The confrontation of rights is controversial today, due to the proliferation of social networks such as Facebook or Twitter, where users provide personal data without being aware of the consequences that may result (Thornberry, 2018, p 67). The legal conditions, to which they are subjected, in most cases, are not even read, in addition to the ambiguity that many present. The right to privacy and the right to the image conform, among others, the most personal rights, and correspond to people by their sole condition of such, from before their birth until after their death. Both the right to privacy and the right to the image are violated daily on the Internet. Technological advances allow images to be published without authorization from their owners, thus attacking the privacy of people.

The process of computerization produced a series of transformations both in social structures and in human behavior, has had consequences in all areas. Human dignity can be affected when whoever possesses personal information, publishes this data on social networks, humiliating and offending someone. The data protection laws are born to protect the owner in terms of their personal privacy, restricting the circulation of data without authorization. The crimes that most frequently occur are related to the intimate law, such as slander, insults, threats and even identity theft. What a few years ago could have been considered a “joke” is now a crime. Those who make use of new technologies must be aware of certain limitations that will be presented when defending their right to not publish personal data. One of the data to take into account is that the Data Protection Act has a reduced scope of application if one takes into account that most networks are hosted in the country, such as Facebook. It is necessary on the part of the users, to avoid the publication of personal information, photos either family friends, and minors (Thornberry, 2018, p 67). Users’ rights begin to be respected when they make them respect, and this is one of the ways.

Conclusion

Social media, media and crime are linked with each other and it has been seen that crime is being intended to be performed through social media and media. According to recent research many people uses different theories of crime such as routine activity of theory, hatred crime theory, labelling theory in the behaviour of the criminal which is due to the media and social media. The rate of the crimes is increasing day by day people tend to adopt new ways them will allow them to fulfil the needs but at the same time they are being categorised as the criminal in the society. It has been seen and thus evaluated that social media, media has given rise to the crimes in the society.

References

Barak, G., 1988. Newsmaking criminology: Reflections of the media, intellectuals, and crime. Justice Quarterly, 5(4), pp.565-587.

Browne, K.D. and Hamilton-Giachritsis, C., 2005. The influence of violent media on children and adolescents: a public-health approach. The Lancet, 365(9460), pp.702-710.

Curran, D.J. and Renzetti, C.M., 2001. Theories of crime. Pearson College Division, pp.16-20

Dahl, S., 2018. Social media marketing: Theories and applications. Sage.

Ellison, N.B. and Boyd, D.M., 2013. Sociality through social network sites. In The Oxford handbook of internet studies, p.56

Enikolopov, R., Petrova, M. and Sonin, K., 2018. Social media and corruption. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 10(1), pp.150-74.

Fuchs, C., 2017. Social media: A critical introduction. Sage, pp.5-15

Gil de Zúñiga, H., Jung, N. and Valenzuela, S., 2012. Social media use for news and individuals’ social capital, civic engagement and political participation. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 17(3), pp.319-336.

Hasinoff, A.A., 2013. Sexting as media production: Rethinking social media and sexuality. New Media & Society, 15(4), pp.449-465.

Jewkes, Y., 2015. Media and crime. Sage, p.27

Kidd-Hewitt, D. and Osborne, R., 1995. Crime and the Media. London, pp.8-20

O’Keeffe, G.S. and Clarke-Pearson, K., 2011. The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), pp.800-804.

Palen, L. and Hughes, A.L., 2018. Social Media in Disaster Communication. In Handbook of Disaster Research (pp. 497-518). Springer, Cham.

Sampson, R.J., 2018. Organized for what? Recasting theories of social (dis) organization. In Crime and social organization(pp. 113-128). Routledge.

Surette, R., 2014. Media, crime, and criminal justice. Nelson Education, pp.16-20

Taylor, I., Walton, P. and Young, J., 2002. The new criminology: For a social theory of deviance. Routledge., pp.5-12

Thornberry, T., 2018. Developmental theories of crime and delinquency. Routledge.

Tsay-Vogel, M., Shanahan, J. and Signorielli, N., 2018. Social media cultivating perceptions of privacy: A 5-year analysis of privacy attitudes and self-disclosure behaviors among Facebook users. new media & society, 20(1), pp.141-161.

Wilcox, P. and Cullen, F.T., 2018. Situational Opportunity Theories of Crime. Annual Review of Criminology, (0), p.n.d.

SEARCH

Top-right-side-AD-min
WHY US?

Calculate Your Order




Standard price

$310

SAVE ON YOUR FIRST ORDER!

$263.5

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Pop-up Message