Some question whether “social media” sites understand the
full power they possess. In the early stages of development the innovators
conceive of all these wondrous opportunities and beliefs of all the good that
can be accomplished through the use of social media. The ability to communicate
with loved ones and friends on a moment’s notice, the ability to track
information at the tip of your fingers, and the ability to react to the world
and in turn have the world react to you on a moment’s notice; all of these
issues are powerful concepts that can intoxicate the individual user. In the
development stage, did any of the designers ask themselves, “Is there any way
my creation can do harm?” I doubt there was much consideration on the negative
impact social media can produce during this initial phase. Now that the beasts
have been unleashed, the social media outlets are encountering the dark side of
their creation. In an effort to react to the misuse of its site, twitter has
teamed up with a nonprofit organization in an attempt to combat and learn about
the negative effects produced through its venue. In the article, http://www.wired.com/2014/11/twitter-harassment/,
twitter made an attempt to address
the growing prominence of the troubling issue of gender abuse towards women
through their media. Twitter has
released a new tool that will enable users to report harassment that is
occurring or has occurred through their social media site.
As they team up with WAM (Women, Action & Media) twitter will attempt to monitor reported
abuses and take appropriate reactive steps to curb and endeavor to eliminate
harassment through their site altogether. WAM will monitor the complaints filed
through the new tool and help the executives at this social media giant begin
to understand the methods, intent and disturbing outcomes that are fabricated
through social media. WAM will fully admit they have no power to determine twitters official response to a given
situation. However, they do take great interest in the ability to educate and
influence the policy development as this endeavor moves forward. The hope is
that other social media outlets will follow suit and begin tracking abuse
issues and responding appropriately to those that commit these despicable acts.
The government’s efforts to respond to the extreme cases
that have occurred are to either create new legislation or expand on existing
legislation that criminalizes these acts. As many know government is usually
slow to respond to new technologies and the reactions involve drawn out,
laborious actions to create legislation that addresses these growing trends.
I would hope in the future, that as software developers
consider creating and enhancing communications through a social venue, they
consider the dark side of human nature. The understanding that their conception
can enhance the life of a user as well as extract a toll on the individual, is
important to the extent that twitter will be willing to enforce any such
remedies they devise to tackle these issues. Twitter’s reaction and partnership to this growing trend is a start
in the right direction. The fact that
twitter is taking action through the creation of their tool and is willing
to listen and learn is a positive step in the right direction.
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