The Internet is a huge and unending sea, as it is considered as a data gateway where everybody can read books, arrange sustenance, share information, pictures, and materials to other individuals. Along these lines, it is anything but difficult to search for data by utilizing the Internet. In any case, not at all like comparable data found in daily papers or transmissions, data accessible on the Internet isn’t controlled for quality or precision; in this way, it is especially critical for the individual Internet client to assess the asset or data. The Internet has flipped around our world. It has improved correspondences, to the extent that it is as of now our favored medium of normal correspondence. In almost all that we do, we use the Internet.
There is a steady rise in the use and application of Social Media Networks. A lot of people often use the popular websites and networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. However, these platforms have sparked controversy and a lot of arguments. One of the major debates is the intrusion of people’s privacy by use of social media. Some individuals have expressed displeasure due to the lack of privacy that they could be having in their social platform accounts. Some feel that the authorities are way too involved that they feel their privacy is no longer respected while other care less or share differing opinions. There is no complete warranting of social media monitoring, and some have argued that there are various reasons as to why they are beneficial. This essay will focus on why social media and privacy are aligned and the reasons why it is necessary and recommendable.
Most individuals perceive the monitoring of social networks as an intrusion of privacy due to the complete accessibility of social media accounts by the government. However, the “intrusion” and control are done for useful purposes(Sarikakis & Winter, 2017). One of the reasons is that there have been incidences where criminals and thugs are arrested due to the posts they make on their Facebook accounts or the tweets on Twitter. Some have used these accounts to boast of the crimes they have gotten away with or some evil deeds they are planning to execute. Through this, the law enforcement agencies get a chance to apprehend such individuals and lock them up(Custers, van der Hof & Schermer, 2014).
The topic of privacy intrusion is also relevant for universities and employers. Only shady people, with some hidden agendas or activities, are alarmed by privacy intrusion on social platforms. Through the use of these networks, people can check and assess various institutions as well as their potential employers and may get a glimpse of what they should expect(Trepte, 2015).
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There are reasons for the legislation of laws, and despite the fact that some are controversial and debatable, they have a core aim of ensuring the society is safe and secure. In such instances, social networks are no exemption. So long as people are doing the right thing and are using the systems in the proper manner, then there is nothing to worry about. Furthermore, it would be logic if one refrains from posting or updating something which they consider as private and do not want people or law enforcers to see.
As technology continues advancing and expounding so does the issue of fake news. Fake news has gradually become a phenomenon in our modern’s digital age as social media plays a tremendous role in its viral spread. By people getting to know and recognizing that this pandemic does exist, it will become easy to stop the rumors and gossip that circulate in our social media platforms. Researchers argue that people ought to fully understand the creation of these online sites as well as figure out how people respond to them. Experts argue that a new phenomenon is emerging despite memory being disreputably fallible. With the help of social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, people have an opportunity of sharing their memories with groups of individuals and this according to psychologists blurs a line between a person and collective memories. The establishment of internet-based misinformation such as the fake news sites has the potential of distorting and individual and collective memories in a very distressing way.
Fake news can be defined as the misinformation that media fraternity and their journalists intentionally spread through the use of social media platforms, broadcasting news media or news we see on television. The core intention of spreading the fake news is to mislead people and gain politically or financially. Social media platforms have been considered to play a crucial role in fuelling fake story, and it has also been responsible for replacing humans with algorithms. Law enforcement agencies often focus on fake news articles that might end up having political implication such as the presidential elections (Balmas, 2014). Law enforcers view phony news as news that has been intentionally fabricated or reports that emerge from satirical websites and can be highly considered factual by the general population when considered in isolation on platform feeds.
The probable impact of fake news might be exciting to a more discerning reader, but it has the power to cause unpredicted and also the tragic outcome. A good example was when fake news circulated that Israel was threatening to wage war on Pakistan, Pakistan decided to go first and respond with a genuine nuclear war on Israel yet Israel was not planning to wage war on Pakistan. The story sounded accurate and factual as they had been written in conformity with a journalist style. Most of the fake news look good and real, and this is why people in the society opt to believe them.
As the number of online users continues to grow and develop, the more the internet islands get segregated and soundproof. The way the society describes and utilizes the social media has consistently been changing the history. However, for as long as man has communicated media, it has been social. Social media is an internet medium for communicating with others. The evolution of social networking platforms in the past years has raised many controversies on various spectrums. It has now become clear to us the social networking sites have become an integral part of every individual in the society. As we experience more simplicity and ability to utilize a wide variety of technology, the concerns have also grown and so have the concerns about what kind of media we are using with the introduction of what many identify as filter bubbles
Filter bubble can be defined as the intellectual isolation that often occurs once websites opt to employ the use of algorithms to limit information the user might be requiring carefully. Moreover, the information provided to the user by the website is given according to this assumption. In many instances, websites end up making such assumptions based on information regarding the user such as browser history, search location, initial click behavior and search history. From this elements, the websites end up presenting information that abides user’s past activity. Thus, a filter bubble ends ups causing the user to acquire less contact with the actual viewpoints resulting to the user becoming intellectually isolated. Theoretically, filter bubbles seem like principles of since fiction novels or rankings of a conspiracy theorist.
This is because; it is hard to imagine that a machine is capable of handpicking the material internet users are going to view. Despite this notion seaming impossible, it is sadly the sad truth of what is exactly going on with our modern technology. Every video a person sees, online article they read or song they decide to listen to end up developing one’s personal profile. This profile ends up deciding what a person might be interested in. Filter bubbles are responsible for taking control and deciding on behalf of the user. Sadly, not many people are aware this is actually happening to them. To some, filter bubble is essential as the algorithm helps the user avoid being overwhelmed with online information. Though this might be true, filter bubble increases the chances of people having an impression that narrow self-esteem is all that is real as access to diverse information is limited.
To some extent, filter bubble is responsible for reinforcing biases as the society is not able to see the full picture. Social media platforms act as a medium for information to be filtered since people tend to follow information that agrees with their beliefs and political orientation. When an individual sees things that only agree with what he/she agree with, he/she ends up with being bias over time. In an instance when the society is filled with an individual who are biased and each individual believes what he/she sees is right, a generation of real disconnect is developed. This is because; people are not able to understand why other people conquer to what they think thus society becomes disconnected. Through sheltering of information, filter bubble contributes to confirmation biases as people don’t get an opportunity to learn the entire truth.
Data mining is regarded as an influential tool that has been created to gather as well as analyze a significant amount of data without losing time. Some of the people who employ the usage of this tool include advertisers who aim at accessing a large set of unique data and managers who seek at targeting the market. Data mining is problematic as information collected is sold to a third party without the knowledge of the user. The filter bubble is responsible for making data mining possible through limiting users information and creating profiles.
References
Custers, B., van der Hof, S., & Schermer, B. (2014). Privacy Expectations of Social Media Users: The Role of Informed Consent in Privacy Policies. Policy &Internet, 6(3), 268-295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/1944-2866.poi366
Sarikakis, K., & Winter, L. (2017). Social Media Users’ Legal Consciousness About Privacy. Social Media + Society, 3(1), 205630511769532. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305117695325
Trepte, S. (2015). Social Media, Privacy, and Self-Disclosure: The Turbulence Caused by Social Media’s Affordances. Social Media + Society, 1(1), 205630511557868. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305115578681
