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The Controversy Of Censorship

Decent Essays

What would life be like without censorship? Though there might be upsides to it, such as more freedom of speech, it could also cause some problems. Not only would we be exposing children to many horrors of the world, we also would be doing nothing to prevent offensive and oppressive content in the media. Therefore, some censorship is necessary for all people; however, in most cases, we should be allowed access to most information in society.

Censorship is oft used to mute freedom of speech and self-expression, which are human rights. We need them to express individuality, to differentiate ourselves from each other. There was a teenaged boy who came out as gay, and when he told his story, it was censored from his school newspaper. …show more content…

However, when it is abused to inflict distress upon other people, then censorship becomes a priority. This is especially evident in the media and the Internet; offensive and oppressive content is almost impossible to avoid. Some people believe seeing racism or sexism, or etcetera in TV shows, or movies, or even video games, won’t hurt anyone as long as you can recognise it “isn’t real” and shouldn’t be practiced in real life. Although this isn’t quite true--things that promote or even just include oppressive content always add to oppression in society. Because it’s so normal to see in the media, it becomes something that’s seen as socially acceptable and okay. And again, especially with children; they’re so impressionable, they grow up with these sexist or violent or racist video games and movies; they become accustomed to this sort of oppressive behaviour found in the media. Even if we say we don’t agree with it, because of how offensive it can be, continuing to support said shows and movies only supports whatever content they hold. And that isn’t okay: oppression such as this contributes to inequality in society. Therefore, such offensive content should be censored from the media, and our freedom of speech online should be limited to our opinions and self-expression, not spreading hatred and unrest through bullying.

Whether something should be censored or not depends entirely on what is being questioned;

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