Ethical use of social media

Our decision to use the social media carries with it the power to be a publisher, something that many users fail to understand or appreciate. Along with this new found publishing power we must also bear a responsibility for the propagation of the truth. We must not only restrict our own posts to the truth, but also not repost untruths posted by others.

The ease with which persons can express their views to large numbers of people in an instant is a power most of us are all too eager to embrace. Unfortunately, many of us do not see the harm and hurt we sometime inflict when we publish false and malicious statements.

Not seeing it does not mean the hurt/harm is not there. If we can avoid doing violence to the minds of unseen persons others may learn to do the same.

As teachers we are faced with the challenge of mastering this rapidly evolving technology, while at the same time having to teach our charges its responsible use. Given the propensity for us to share our personal views with others, we would be well advised to exercise restraint in terms of the postings we place on social media, mindful of the social and legal implications.

In our schools we have become accustomed to students taking to social media to deliberately hurt others via their posts. Cyber bullying is real. Children regularly take to the internet to engage in a form of verbal violence, the scale of which we have never seen before.

Hateful and vitriolic statements dominate social media posts of many teenagers, compounded with threats of physical violence.

Teachers are then required to intervene in these internet-based and initiated conflicts, the resolution of which can be arduous and time consuming. These situations transcend the boundaries of school type, becoming the new norm. The obsession people have to see images of themselves on screens leads many to post pictures on social media. In many instances these images seem to be pushing the boundaries of ethics and moral decency. This new social standard has been adopted by young people, with ‘selfies’ being their favourite pastime.

Our children are all too eager to befriend strangers on social media, blissfully unaware of the dangers of so doing. They proceed to share very personal information and images with these strangers, not realising that once that information or image is out there it cannot be retracted.

Parents would do well to truly educate and guide their children from a tender age in the ethical and responsible use of social media as well as its dangers. In fact, they must only allow children to engage social media only when they are mature enough to understand the responsibility that accompanies its use. Children should not be allowed to engage social media until they are socially, emotionally and intellectually ready.

As a society we must all take responsibility for what we communicate with others for it has consequences. We must be aware that if we are to engage the power of publishers we must be prepared to adopt their ethical standards.

Before we post anything we must ensure that it adheres to certain levels of journalistic integrity.

Social media has and continues to be a double-edged sword and if we are not careful we can become a society where untruths become the order of the day.

In such a place, self-destruction becomes an inevitable outcome.