Should Social Media Be Censored?

Daniel D’Addario wrote an article called “Everything is ‘Trolling’ Now,” which is about internet trolling. Trolling is generally regarded as an intentionally offensive remark or action against a person or group of people who hold a certain ideology in order to get a reaction (421). However, D’Addario takes note in the article of an apparent oversaturation of the word ‘troll.’ Individuals will call many different things a form of trolling, to the point that it seems as though just holding an opinion is enough to be considered as a personal attack against other people. D’Addario even mocks this by occasionally placing quotation marks around the word ‘troll,’ to call into question a particular instance of its usage. Through sourcing, comparisons,

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are huge contributors to cyberbullying. These social network sites grant their members the privilege to engage in the actions of the attacker which is a menace. A majority of the cyberbullied population have committed suicide due to the abusive comments. Cyberbullying has gone into a hyper drive with new devices and faster types of social media.

With fresh technology entering this world, there is no telling how dreadful harassment can develop. Harassment on social media is already a terrible thing and it is going to get worse before it will get better. Cyber-bullying, another to phrase social media bullying, has become a worldwide trend. Many incidents have already happened to innocent children who get ridiculed and mocked via internet and technology. Their safety gets destroyed and crushed because the cyber-bullies tease and mock them. The average man would want his personal life private not public. The average man wants his safety from demons like these bullies. The average man who has access to technology already has freedom, just not their

According to Beran and Li (2007) there are six different forms of cyberbullying, which include flaming, harassment, gossip, impersonation, exclusion, and cyberstalking. The ways for this to occur have become countless, from well-known social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, to smaller sites that allow you remain anonymous such as Yik Yak and ask.com. The days are gone of having to be the biggest meanest kid in the schoolyard to hurt others. Now it does not matter one’s size, age, gender, or social standing to bully someone. People can now create their own anonymous personas or simply continue to bully others online after they have left school or work.

Cyberbullying is a growing global problem due to the aspect of anonymity on social media. Not only does the inability to control social media introduces online harassment, it also reduces the ability to recognize the hate crimes because it is difficult to identify the situation and abuser. Studies show up to 53% of adolescents experience cyberbullying (Chibbaro 65). The opportunities to manipulate false identities and the inability to monitor anonymous users makes one virtually invisible on social media, thus, allows many people to behave in such a way that lacks personal responsibility. The wide social media networks allow for a greater ease for bullies to engage in oppressive conversations at any place and anytime. The number of individuals affected by cyberbullying through the use of social media emphasize social networks as the greatest contributor to violations of laws, such as those about hate crimes,

I. Thesis Statement: Social Networks are giving bullies an opportunity to attack individuals online by invading their privacy and creating psychological effects from attacks. These problems need to be addressed by controlling and preventing cyber bullying.

People who are dedicated to making trolling comments should be banned due to the lack of respect for other’s opinions. The respect for other’s persons opinion is an important trait that society seems to be forgetting about. There are many online social media platforms that allows for communication among their users, unfortunately there is no control in what is being said in these forums, as most users tend to ignore the

With online communication becoming easier, there is more ways to harass and bully another person. Cyber bullying has become a worldwide issue, and in some cases can be treated as a criminal offense. Social media makes is simple to target someone by having the ability to spread posts over the entire internet. Insulting pictures can be posted online for the world to see in order to embarrass someone. Although parental supervision has become needed, there are ways to harass someone in private. A study was done to show that 59% of the social media population has a “different identity” and of that percentage “17% suggested that they pretended to be someone else so they could act mean to people and not get into trouble."(Luhtanen, Ellis, 2009) Social media has become a weapon to harm someone mentally and people use the security of hiding behind a screen to get away with it. There is no way to prove that such person committed the crime with no finger prints left behind, therefore cyber bullying may be

As technology has advanced, internet trolling has increasingly become a problem within the last few years. Internet trolling, or cyberbullying, is an issue that has been progressing for quite a while. The internet and especially social media hit society like a storm and suddenly created a platform for free speech that not everyone was ready for. Suddenly, people can mask themselves behind a screen and can say anything they please at any given time while having the ability to evade any consequences that would usually be pertinent if those things were said in person. This led to the creation of what we know as cyberbullying or trolling: online harassment. In 2017, this “harassment” has developed into more than hurtful comments and now often takes

For the past decade or so there has been a considerable shift in the way we communicate with each other; instead of speaking face-to-face, we prefer to stay in touch by way of a Facebook post or Tweet. Social media dominates our life whether we’re using it, or not. However, not all online dissonance has been healthy and civil. The internet has seen a rise in the number of trolls and predators that lurk the dark corners of the Internet. Threats, and heinous insults flood media networks like Reddit and Snapchat. Online predators who fling insults are enamored by the internet’s alluring anonymity and can’t give it up. Like Christine Rosen says in her article called, “In the Beginning Was the Word,” “technology has introduced new words, changed the meaning of others, and has even introduced new forms of language and communication” (230). The evolutionary trend and prevalence of people intentionally offending others online has led to a

Huge media streams such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube reach millions of viewer’s everyday. Viewers and participants of the media have the right to post and comment on any content. As a result, millions of people using the Internet deal with online bullies, threats, and abuse inflicted by other Internet users. Unfortunately, the regulations and guidelines that majority of media streams have upon users does not prevent bullies from writing hateful comments to other users. For example, YouTube is a famous media source in which individuals can post videos to share with a public. The public can like, dislike, and comment on any video. Considering that YouTube does not regulate the comment sections, people can post hateful comments on someone’s video and remain completely anonymous to other users. Cyber bullying is a result of the “trolling” dilemma that occurs online everyday to millions of victims. Due to an increase in cyberbullying, the effects and trauma victim’s deal with has become evident in the past years. Victims of cyber bullying commonly deal with feelings of shame, overwhelmed, vulnerable, angry, alone, depressed, and in some cases suicidal. In the article “Teens and Cyberbullying,” composed by the National Prevention Council, statistics prove that cyberbullying is most prevalent among 15 and 16-year-olds, particularly among girls. The article also states that 43% of teenagers have experienced cyberbullying in the last year. Adolescents are the future

The internet is an ever-evolving platform that more and more people use daily. Being so adaptable and ambiguous, people take advantage of the internet for productivity, information, and entertainment. While others take a darker turn, and take advantage of people and exploit their lack of knowledge, or commit crimes by taking advantage of the ambiguous nature of the internet. The internet is a key factor in the daily lives for billions of people around the world and should stay uncensored, for the entirety of its lifespan.

The word trolling on the internet could be a behavior that need to take care of more, is not a superficial thing for many folks, internet browser, as most of the people in the world could name, in this new modern culture. Where you can chat, meet new people from the entire world, and not be sure if the person you just met, also get in you profile without permission or hacked you. This is what worries most of the Internet browser not been able to have privacy, and a law to protect all the Internet browser. To take more serious this behavior that it have cause numerous murders, and

Social media should not moderate the comments or points of views from society due to the fact that everyone has the right to express what is on their mind. The U.S. created the First Amendment which protects the freedom of expression in essence, giving society the ability to state their opinion without fear of retribution. It is difficult to think of negative, hurtful, and spiteful comments being protected by the freedom of speech. The information and posts on social media has such a great influence over the population of the world, however it is important to remember that trolls as well as their comments should be taken lightly yet respected because it is their own opinion. Nonetheless people have become highly sensitive to trolls or any comments in which they might not agree with. Additionally it seems that trolls have a strong hold in social media yet, who are these trolls? Trolls make heinous comments on social media and are thrilled to keep anonymity as their profile. People who are behind an electronic screen are not always the most transparent and credible commentators. Many will argue that censorship is needed in social media as it could prevent excessive negativity online. Although this may have a case, if people allowed censorship of harsh and hateful believes what else will be censored in the future. Censorship in social media has the potential to create a deceitful view of society.

Due to this easy access to a digital platform and worldwide audience, many see this as an opportunity for sharing ideas, thoughts, beliefs and practising freedom of speech. For many this is a great opportunity to reach out and connect with people from across the globe through their online ‘profiles’. Some people find that a digital voice or message has a greater effect than a literal voice thus boosting people’s confidence in sharing things with others online. Although this can be viewed as a positive way of allowing someone to communicate their thoughts with others, some individuals take this opportunity of being hidden behind a screen to spread hateful, rude and disrespectful comments with others on the worldwide web. These individuals, often referred to as ‘trolls’ will often mock, threaten, and sometimes blackmail others using their online profiles. Jonathan Bishop claims that “trolling in general is the posting of messages via a communications network that are intended to be provocative, offensive or menacing”. (Bishop, 2013, p28)