“Discuss the ethical issues
raised by educational and business uses of social media”
By the end of the year 2013,
almost 40% of the world’s population were online and this number is just keeps
increasing (Kelion, 2013) . Just imagine that
2.8 billion of people (roughly every third person) are online nowadays. In the business
world, this number is also quit big, as 30% of the EU enterprises use social
media (e.g. social networks, blogs, wikis, etc.), 73% of which use it to build
their profile online, and advertise their products, see Figure 1. However, the educational sector doesn’t stand behind
these numbers, on the contrary, even overpasses, as it was provided from fifth annual CASE/Huron Education/mStoner social media
survey, conducted in January 2014, Educational advancement staff uses
nearly all kinds of social media in order to communicate with students, parents
and alumni (Russell, 2014) , see Figure 2.
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Figure 1.
Figure 2.
After this impressive numbers a fact that ethical issues in
this ocean of social media is inevitable. However, a question may arise in your
mind whether aren’t we free in expressing our thoughts both online and in life,
based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1947), Article 18, which
states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of thoughts, conscience and
religion” (Lauterpacht, 1948) ? The answer is: “YES,
certainly you are!”, BUT it is a subject of limitations when it clashes with the
rights and freedoms of others (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article
29) (Lauterpacht, 1948) . In a simple way,
you can say and write whatever you want, when you want, until it clashes with the
rights of others, whether it is religions, race, gender, etc.
Article 18 - Source: http://anotherbrickinwall.blogspot.co.uk/2012_04_01_archive.html
Article 29 - Source: http://dagdok.org/uploads/pics/Religionsfrihet_01.jpg
Here are few examples ethical issues happened online:
- In business world: 13 members of Virgin
Atlantic’s flight crew lost their jobs after Facebook comments where they have
labelled Virgin Atlantic passengers as “chavs”
- In education world: A teacher being fired
from school for putting a photo on Facebook where she was holding a glass of
wine and a mug of beer
- Moreover, well-known example of Paul Chambers
being arrested and later on fining for Tweeting a joke that he will blow the
airport for not working
- And we could continue this list as much as we want.
In order to avoid this kind of ethical issues online, more
and more companies make it possible to flag/report the defamation on social
sites (e.g. “Report” button on Facebook). Furthermore, Twitter itself has
announced that it will censor the messages country by country, in other words,
block “offensive” messages (Moran, 2012) .
To sum up, I just want to state that the problem
of ethical issues faced every day by us will grow at the same speed as the
Internet does. I personally think that this problem is inevitable, but the social
media is not the cause of it, because it is just a way for us to communicate,
so called “bridge” across countries and nations. WE are the people who fill in
the content of the social media, and so WE are responsible for any consequences
that emerge from it.
References
BBC News
England, 2012. Paul Chambers 'blow up' airport tweet appeal judgement
reserved. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-18607798
[Accessed 23 March 2014].
Kelion, L., 2013. UK jumps up internet scoreboard as digital divide
grows. [Online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24426739
[Accessed 23 March 2014].
Lauterpacht, H., 1948. The British Year of Book International Law.
Oxford: Oxford Press.
Moran, L., 2012. Twitter sparks free speech fury by announcing it will
censor messages country-by-country. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2092606/Twitter-sparks-free-speech-fury-announcing-censor-messages-country-country.html
[Accessed 23 March 2014].
Reporter, D.M., 2011. Teacher sacked for posting picture of herself
holding glass of wine and mug of beer on Facebook. [Online] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354515/Teacher-sacked-posting-picture-holding-glass-wine-mug-beer-Facebook.html
[Accessed 23 March 20114].
Russell, P., 2014. Survey Results Indicate Social Media's Impact on
Educational Advancement Continues to Grow. [Online] Available at: http://www.case.org/About_CASE/Newsroom/Press_Release_Archive/Survey_Results_Indicate_Social_Medias_Impact_on_Educational_Advancement_Continues_to_Grow.html
[Accessed 23 March 2014].
Steview, S., 2008. Virgin flight crew fired for insulting passengers
via Facebook. [Online] Available at: http://www.thetechherald.com/articles/Virgin-flight-crew-fired-for-insulting-passengers-via-Facebook/3032/
[Accessed 23 March 2014].
Hello Eldar - your blog makes for an interesting read - I can't quite believe the statistics shown in Figure 2, there is an astounding use of various forms of social media. After taking a further look at the:
ReplyDelete'Russell, P., 2014. Survey Results Indicate Social Media's Impact on Educational Advancement Continues to Grow. [Online] Available at: http://www.case.org/About_CASE/Newsroom/Press_Release_Archive/Survey_Results_Indicate_Social_Medias_Impact_on_Educational_Advancement_Continues_to_Grow.html'
I had to further research what the term 'Advanced Education', and educational advancement staff meant, and forgive me my interpretation may be wrong, but it seems that it refers to online distance learning. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that they make use of various forms of social media and online platforms to interact with their students. On a personal note I have never encountered the use of Instagram in an educational environment - I wonder what purpose it would serve?
You make a particularly interesting point regarding how it is possible to flag or report inappropriate content on social networking sites, however, my question to you is - would it not be more beneficial or important to put in place educational social media policies to prevent such content being posted online in the first place?
See this Guardian article that explores what role schools should play in keeping children safe online?:http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/aug/26/children-online-safety-schools-role
Moreover, this article:http://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/23/teacher-misconduct-cases-facebook
highlights how there is a big gulf in school social networking policies, as staff use Twitter, chatrooms and emails to contact children.
What are your thoughts on what is appropriate interaction between education professionals and students?
Hi Alysia,
DeleteHappy that you liked the post. You nearly right about the first reference you have mentioned. However, when it spoke about Instagram it was under context of "Most Used Platforms", generally. I didn't care about it so I just used the one related with education. As you said, how can you use instagram for Education??!!! :)
You had a very right point. Basically, if I am right to explain your words, you are saying why not to prevent the problem before it occurs. And this is quite right, but also quite hard to implement. Just imagine a scenario where you have lots of forums for students to discuss their subjects, we could obviously put "comment waiting for moderation". However, it is sooo time taking, so teachers just have to trust on students to be respectful.
Thanks for the articles, I have read them and it is quite scary that teachers use social media to build inappropriate relationships with their pupils
In terms of appropriate why not to give and example of this module we are studying with you. That's what I will call appropriate, because we both study and communicate online. Everyone respects each others opinion, but also does provide some criticism every time :)
Thanks a lot for your comment and have a safe trip to Berlin!
Hi Eldar!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog - you made good use of diagrams to break up text and facts to support your argument. The freedom to express oneself online has been a continuing element in the topics of this module, but I have never thought to discuss the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as you did. As you mentioned, ‘say what you want, until it clashes with the rights of others, whether it is religions, race, gender, etc.’ I’d like to share the story of ‘#hasjustinelandedyet’ (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/pr-executive-justine-sacco-apologises-after-losing-job-over-racist-aids-joke-provoked-hasjustinelandedyet-twitter-storm-9020809.html) Unfortunately, her story is a perfect example of the side effects of exploiting your freedom of speech online, especially if its offensive. Whilst I personally feel that the professional repercussions to online activity are often too strong (such as the case of the teacher holding wine that you mentioned), especially if the workplace is not directly being represented, I definitely feel that the right sanctions were implemented for Justine Sacco. What is your opinion on professional repercussions to private activity? Should the issue of company representation play a role?
You mentioned the option of ‘reporting’ unethical content on Facebook. Even though I have never reported a company’s posts, I have previously done this to a ‘friends’ tasteless and offensive post. Using my own experience, I agree that giving users the discretion to flag up unwanted content that a company posts not only maintains ethnicity, but it also benefits the company by removing offensive posts as quickly as possible, and hence reducing the impact of pr blunders.
I look forward to your future posts :) Eveline
Hi Eveline,
DeleteHappy to see your comments once again. My pleasure :) Thanks a lot for the feedback and Yes I have read the article the link of which you have provided for me.
That was a very nice question, so let me put it this way. Yes, when you are in your private life you can say whatever you want, just be ready to accept consequences. However, when you are employed and something that you have said is related to your job you need to be Double careful, because you the Face of the company, it's representative! I gave an example in my post when 13 members of Virgin Atlantic’s flight crew lost their jobs after Facebook comments where they have labelled Virgin Atlantic passengers as “chavs”... As you may understand, if it was your own comment to someone else then it might be understood as a joke. But when you are the part of the company and you discuss your passengers, be ready to pay for your words.
Thanks a lot once more time and have a good Easter!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHi Eldar, let's hope this time round it works third time lucky!
ReplyDeleteI initially became drawn into your post due to the fact that you started the study of the topic from a complete different angle to that of myself and peers, and so I felt like you had a great and solid basis from which to develop the emerging themes and your own opinion.
The figure which you opened with did surprise me quite a lot! 40% of the world's population were online in 2013, no wonder the internet is increasingly becoming such a powerful tool, one which can be used to our advantage, and sometimes sadly, can be used in a negative way like you have mentioned in your comment on my own blog, bringing to light the issue of internet trolls. It will be extremely interesting to see how that number rises in the near future, as the internet now plays a pivotal role in our society continues to expand and grow around us; we have seen just how important it is, and what value is placed, on having an existence online. With the internet population ever-rising no wonder platforms like Facebook, with Twitter now following their lead, need to rise to the challenge of cracking down on abusive and offensive content. The "report" button which Twitter introduced late 2013, is just the start of this campaign.
Your second point was very valid too, in the fact that, yes, it is great that the internet has given us the tools to express our opinion, and furthermore, it has given a voice to people who had, perhaps, once felt at a minority. However, what one must remember, and take seriously, is the fact that we will all be held accountable for our actions. When posting content online, we must ask ourselves if it is appropriate and remember that in today's society, public backlash is almost inevitable against anything controversial. Like I mentioned on my post, and you so correctly summarised in your final sentence, one wrong move could spell disaster and not only ruin your own integrity, but the reputation of the company. That is where, like you have mentioned, ethical issues cause the problems for organisations. We have the freedom to write what we want, but with that freedom must come responsibility.
Thanks for the great examples you provided, I hadn't myself heard of them but it just shows the consequences of the misuse of social media within the work place and the lengths that companies will go to in order to try and keep their integrity in tact: Virgin Atlantic fired all 13 of those involved in the inappropriate incident, what a huge statement. Not just to the public, but to employees to proceed with caution.
A brand is able to promote their service and products thanks to the increased interaction between its customers given the expansion and popularity of social media. It is undeniable the benefits a brand can take advantage of whilst building their online presence, however, to what extent is presence on social media beneficial, if the employee has the potential of using it inappropriately and thus, catapulting the company into a pubic disaster. This poses the question which many of us have been asking this week, is a social media policy the necessary thing to implement to control the possible ethical issues?
I'll leave you with this article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-harris-lipschultz/lets-debate-social-media-_b_4293629.html which debates social media, and this particular quote that I thought was relevant "Therein lies the deeper issue of social media communication ethics. Real-time interaction and engagement happens within the context of individual social networks and marketing strategies. CEO's are now being called upon to be social media participants, according to one study, in order to show innovation, build media relationships, provide a human face for the company and other aspects of reputation management"
Thanks again for your patience, kindness and understanding with my technical difficulties today Eldar!
Kim
Hi Kim,
DeleteThat was one big comment :) I think it is even bigger than my whole post. Thanks a lot for your patience to write it, especially because of your problems with posting it. Very appreciated.
Now, back to topic. I'm happy that you've liked the was I went differently this time. And you are completely right that the number of users increasing is just frightening.
To answer your question: Let put it this way, Kim... Are there any other possibilities than social media policy? As an IT person I know how hard it is to process tons and tons of comments and posts that are going online every single second that I'm writing this comment. The question is... who is going to control it? we can't just do it like we do for our blogs: put the comments for Moderation and only then upload them, Facebook will just die because the users want instant communication and not wait for their comments to be moderated :) So I just personally think that if you want to handle this enormous amount of data coming into social media to be uploaded and checked at the same time, there is no other choice but to put some policy on it :)
Thanks a lot for the article, most probably I will include it into my Reflection on topic.
Have a good Easter,
Best Regards, Eldar.