Social Media Identities And Freedoms
Overview
Who decides what you are allowed to say? For most of history the answer was a government, and the argument was about how far it could go. Today a great deal of public speech happens on platforms owned by companies, whose terms of service reach further than most laws and whose decisions come with no court, no jury and often no explanation.
This lesson takes on the hardest material in the Technology theme. You will look at what social media does to personal identity, both the belonging it genuinely creates and the harm it genuinely causes, at the unresolved argument over speech and privacy online, and at how a generation that gets its news from a feed rather than a front page changes what journalism is for.
Objectives
- Positive and negative ways in which personal identities can be affected by the growth of social media communities in local and global contexts
- Issues surrounding personal rights and freedom of speech for users of social media
- Changing patterns of media use and consumption, including the decline of printed media and the rise of 24-hour news reporting
Mind map
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Flashcards
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Lesson Note
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Lesson Evaluation
Congratulations on completing the lesson on Social Media Identities And Freedoms. Now that youve explored the key concepts and ideas, its time to put your knowledge to the test. This section offers a variety of practice questions designed to reinforce your understanding and help you gauge your grasp of the material.
You will encounter a mix of question types, including multiple-choice questions, short answer questions, and essay questions. Each question is thoughtfully crafted to assess different aspects of your knowledge and critical thinking skills.
Use this evaluation section as an opportunity to reinforce your understanding of the topic and to identify any areas where you may need additional study. Don't be discouraged by any challenges you encounter; instead, view them as opportunities for growth and improvement.
- The term 'diaspora' refers to: A) A type of social media algorithm B) A population living away from the country their community originally came from C) A government department regulating the internet D) A form of online advertising Answer: B
- Which of the following best explains why social media recommendation systems can amplify harmful content? A) They are designed to promote harmful material deliberately B) They are optimised for engagement, and distressing content is often engaging C) They select content at random D) They only show content from a user's friends Answer: B
- A statement of reasons, required of platforms under European Union law, is: A) A yearly financial report B) An explanation given to a user when their content is removed or restricted C) A government list of banned websites D) A privacy policy shown at sign-up Answer: B
- According to recent international surveys of news consumption, the share of people accessing news in print has: A) Risen sharply since 2013 B) Stayed roughly the same since 2013 C) Fallen from around half of respondents to around one in ten D) Fallen to zero in every country surveyed Answer: C
- Which of these is the strongest argument against requiring platforms to remove all reported content within two hours? A) Harmful content spreads slowly, so speed is unnecessary B) Companies would remove lawful reporting and satire rather than risk a penalty C) Automated systems cannot remove content at all D) Users would stop reporting harmful content Answer: B
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