weekly articles

Facebook and Twitter could pay the price for hate speech (61)

According to this article, the German government has recently published a draft law that will impos fines of up to €50m on social network sites that fail to remove hate speech, fake news and other undesirable content from their platforms. The German government have decided that social media companies will have to explain rules and complaint procedures clearly to their users and follow up on each complaint. Content that is illegal will also have to be taken down within 24 hours, while other law-breaking content must be taken down or blocked within seven days. The draft law comes after the belief that the big internet companies aren’t taking their responsibilities seriously. This signifies the evolving struggle between democracy and digital technology, where social network platforms determine what people read, see and hear. With the growing powers of social media, the article suggests that there is a sense of responsibility that should come with it, for example research has found that the majority of Americans said they get news via social media, and half of the public turned to social media to learn about the 2016 presidential election. This doesn’t mean that people get all of their news from Facebook and Twitter, but it does highlight how owners of big internet platforms have acquired some of the power that has traditionally been ascribed to print and broadcasters.

I believe that the government is taking a big step in protecting the general public while on social media, as many of these companies have found ways to bypass implementing actual strong changes until recently. The fines are quite high, and some do argue that this is breach of many freedoms as what one may consider as hateful is not to another. 

Revealed: the more time that children chat on social media, the less happy they feel (62)

This article discusses a study that has revealed how children who spend more time on online social networks feel less happy in nearly all aspects of their lives. Researchers have found how the more time children spend chatting on social media sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp and Instagram, the less happy they feel about their school work, the school they attend, their appearance, their family and their overall life. However, the study has found that they do feel happier about their friendships. Social networking has transformed childhoods dramatically in the past decade and is becoming a concern for politicians and organisations which are responsible for safeguarding children. As a whole, the research suggests that going online makes children more likely to make negative social comparisons with others, which results in these insecurities. 

• Economists found that spending just one hour a day on social networks reduces the probability of a child being completely happy with his or her life overall by around 14%.
•  More than 90% of 16- to 24-year-olds use online social networks and while most sites stipulate a minimum user age of 13, few apply any checks. 
• A BBC survey found that more than three-quarters of 10- to 12-year-olds have social media accounts. A report by the media watchdog Ofcom found that more than half of children aged as young as three and four use a tablet while one in seven has their own device.
• The amount of time that children between eight and 11 and those aged 12-15 spend online has more than doubled in a decade

I am not surprised by the result of these statistics as the impact of social media on the youth is known to be negative. However the statistics highlight how grave this issue is and how more should definitely be done to improve the lives of the youth.