Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Political Significance of Social Media and the Limits of Our Understanding
- 2 The Moral Significance of Social Networking Technologies
- 3 Why We Do What We Do
- 4 Time Consciousness and the Specious Present of Social Media
- 5 Pretty Is as Pretty Does
- 6 Revealing the Moral Self in the Context of Us
- Bibliography
- Index
Introduction
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 June 2018
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1 The Political Significance of Social Media and the Limits of Our Understanding
- 2 The Moral Significance of Social Networking Technologies
- 3 Why We Do What We Do
- 4 Time Consciousness and the Specious Present of Social Media
- 5 Pretty Is as Pretty Does
- 6 Revealing the Moral Self in the Context of Us
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
The arrival of social networking technologies such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube is altering the fabric of our lives and changing the ethical implications of our social and political practices. Social media is at the center of many of our greatest public policy debates, but the role it plays in relation to human behavior is far from settled. Consider the shooting attack on Republicans at a baseball field during a charity event. The gunman was described “as a Bernie Sanders supporter and campaign volunteer virulently opposed to President Trump. He posted many anti- Trump messages on social media, including one in March that said ‘Time to Destroy Trump & Co.’” (Board, 2017). A look at his Facebook posts confirmed the antipathy James T. Hodgkinson had for President Trump and the Republican Party. The question not clearly answered, however, was whether social media contributed to his intentions to shoot Republicans. And in the 2016 elections, Hillary Clinton placed some responsibility for her loss on the social media network Facebook. According to Clinton, the “fake stories” that spread on social media influenced the voters in the election. The solution she suggested? Content regulation by the social media giant. She said of Facebook, “They've got to get back to trying to curate it more effectively, they've got to help prevent fake news from creating a new reality” (Staff, 2017). In response, Facebook and Google began shutting down “fake news” sites, but without a clear understanding of how or why these social media sources played a role in swaying the American voter and without a clear path to avoid the potential regulatory pitfalls that come along with content regulation. Social media and its potentially radicalizing effect also figures into our domestic and international efforts against the threat of terrorism. The Obama administration justified the drone strike on American citizen Anwar al- Awlaki, in part because of the radicalizing influence of al- Awlaki's blogs, Facebook page, YouTube videos, and contributions to the online al- Qaeda magazine, Inspire. Even after his death, the Congress believed the influence of social media was so powerful that it had to be taken down to prevent further terrorist acts.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Social Media and MoralityLosing our Self Control, pp. 1 - 26Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2018