There are many issues surrounding this topic and there are lots of
research papers posted to the internet discussing these matters. There is a
very fine line between social media, legal and ethics.
I looked at an article from the website “usatoday” and what I found
from there was pretty interesting. One of the biggest topics that was discussed
in this article is the ethical issue with social media being used for academic
research. Where the issue lies in this
is private companies are gathering vast amounts of information from individuals’
private accounts. Through this mining of online communication it has aided in
giving new insight into all aspects of everyday life. Personally, I think this instance
is a good thing because these companies such as, Microsoft and Facebook, have
been able to identify key items in people’s lives. Microsoft has used its data
to help identify women who are at risk of postpartum depression and Facebook has
been able to show how parents and kids interact. What they found is the
interaction between them drops at the age of 13 until the child moves out. The argument
to this is, is it ethical for a company to be able to store your information
you have into their databases? I think if it is for research to help identify
and find solutions to everyday life problems then yes. If not, then no because
technically it is an invasion of privacy.
The next article I read discussed seven ethical dilemmas faced in
content marketing. The list this article came up with were invasion of privacy,
spamming, public bashing, dishonesty and distortions, distorted endorsements
and improper anonymity, misuse of free expertise and contests, and opportunism.
I found it intriguing that spamming was listed as unethical because it is such
a common thing to happen to people that I do not really think about it. What
makes it unethical is the manner in which messages are broadcasted. Usually
users are deceived through a trail of twitter and Facebook posts. I know I have
been a victim of this and I cannot stand when a post shows up on my “wall” of
one thing then when I click on it, it takes me to a completely different link
than what I was under the impression I was going to.
Is it okay for companies to gather data from the information you have
put on your personal page? Is it right for a company to send you links that
take you to a site that is not associated with the link? The simple answer is
no. At the same time the web was created where anything goes and the rules don’t
apply which has created numerous problems. These ethical issues will never go
away so what can a person do to avoid this? Simply be aware and careful of what
you decide you want others to see online.
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