An Ethical Analysis of the Positive and Negative uses of Social Media
By Christopher D. Whitney
Introduction
As we enter the twenty-first century, new tools and ways of communicating are changing almost
every aspect of our human experience. As well, these new technologies and tools are shaping our views
and understanding of the world. Revealing a new type of identity, and unity. Using a simple little battery
powered device one can now share content that shakes our very foundations. These devices have vanes
that stretch the globe. And with them a new age of mass information, disinformation, images, and videos
are rattling our understanding [Bessi, A. 2015][Conway, M. 2006]. Social media and the networks they
create are radically shifting our definition of self, and make us revaluate our morality [Featherstone, M.
1990][Etzioni. A. 1998]. From the United States to the Arab world this content informs a new generation
and ushers in a new global identity. An age where we carry around portals to the world in our pockets,
and share our experiences at light speed. An evolutionary change is occurring, one which scares and
enlightens the masses. In a world where our human nature can never stay hidden, and the technology just
reflects back ourselves. These tools also enable millions to judge and spread hate often leaving their
audience speechless with horror, and saddened in disgust. Can such horrific acts be justified? Through our
subjective lens maybe not, but what happens when one steps behind the veil of ignorance? Then it
becomes harder to call something right or wrong, and requires intense reasoning to conclude an answer.
From Gutenberg to Alan Turing new technologies always impacts society, but is it always for the
better? From written language to computer code, technology enables the masses to reexamine their place
in the world. Moreover, as that world pushes into the twenty-first centuries many of the questions of the
past are still being asked such as the rule of authorities and who has ultimate control. However, they are
asked in the new context and ways. We now can watch live executions and mass murders [Chung Yin
Yeung. 2015][Fisher, Ali. 2015] while simultaneously seeing a live feed from space [Liao, X. 2006].
Moreover, with the rise of the internet once separate places are now becoming connected to a global
community and audiences [DiMaggio. 2001]. We are no longer separated by boards or empires that
created our world views [Meijer, A. 2009]. A new age of understanding, empathy and connectedness is
sweeping the global from the coffee shops of China to the squares in Tunisia. The people of this planet
are finding a new voice and a new image of themselves. A view that questions authorities and organizes
the masses to cause social change [Lotan, Gilad. 2011] and shifts the balance of power back to the people.
In this paper we will look at, what online tools enable these changes, what their role is in revolution and
political activism, the use of social media in the spread of terrorism, and finally what it means for the
global morality of the world.
Innovations and Technologies
It is hard to argue that computers have not changed the world [Womack, J. P. 1990]. It is
incredible that the simple ideas of repetition and logic can have such a huge impact on our experience and
understanding of what it means to be alive. These machines have changed the way many view the world,
and how we interact with it. I’d argue that technology is a neutral object [Andrew Feenberg. 2005] and
only mirrors the user. These tool connect millions, and create new knowledge and insight [Boyd, D.
2012]. These networks enable scientists to study massive amount of information to piece together the
puzzles of life [Boyd, D. 2012]. Technology is one of the thing that makes human unique from other
animals, for we extend our abilities by innovation [Norman, D. A. 1993], and reach for the stars.
Moreover, with the miniaturization of microchips the cost of mobile devices is dropping [Smith, A.
2013]. This cost cutting makes it more accessible to the less fortunate and spreads the global connection
[Smith, A. 2013]. Innovation and mass access to the world wide web is enabling inventors to create new
tools. Tools whose main purpose may not be for social change, but have a consensus of doing so.
The first technology we will look at is the invention of the world wide web. There is much debate
about who invented the internet and how it came to be. It might have come from the campus of MIT or
the labs of DARPA or both [Leiner, B. 1997], but wherever the origins such a simple idea with extreme
implication. Just a network of the computer serving up diverse content, and allowing instant
communication, so what's the big deal? A lay of the 1970’s might have believed that connecting millions
of computers to a common network would not be an extraordinary or world changing, but they would be
proven wrong in 2015. From the first host to host message sent by ARPANET the internet has truly
grown into something completely new, a never before seen force [Leiner, B. 1997][Moschovitis, C. J.
1998] unstoppable in this implications. From academics spreading new knowledge and research to a
student needing help on their homework. The Internet has created a new understanding of the different
values and morals of the world by joining our information and experiences into one giant web.
Another technology that has changed the social landscape is the invention and miniaturization of
the cell phone or smartphone. Starting from the rise of the personal computer in the 90’s a new wave of
information and idea sharing has swept the global [Allan, R. A. 2001][Moschovitis, C. J. 1998]. And the
innovation did not stop there. Soon phones become more computationally powerful and economical
[Smith, A. 2013]. These mini computers or smartphones fit into our pockets, and allow us to capture the
world around us with built-in cameras. Also, as the prices drop [Smith, A. 2013] and the access increases
[DiMaggio, P. 2001] it not unreasonable to speculate that soon every human on this planet will have
access to this technology. It is truly incredible how fast innovation can change the world.
Finally, with the invention of the smartphone and the internet only one piece is left, the
applications that control the interactions between devices. Blogs and microblogs are creating new forms
of communication and expression between users [Smith, A. 2013]. Free tools such as Twitter and
Facebook give anyone with basic literacy knowledge the ability to share their ideas and to voice their
grievances [Picazo-Vela. 2012][Lotan, Gilad. 2011]. These tools enable many individuals to organize and
communicate at the speed of light. These technologies create an active environment of empathy and
understanding. Also, with the advent of a digital camera in every smartphone [Smith, A. 2013],
individuals can now share shocking videos to the world. In the past, such videos might have been blocked
by the media and/or government [Lynch, M. 2002] but not anymore. These tools have created a new age
of mass communication, transparency, and idea sharing [Meijer, A. 2009] which lends itself extremely
well to activism and political uprising. Imagine the implications of such power, a power not reserved for
the privileged but given freely to the masses. What amazing tools for change.
Revolution and Political Activism
Let us now examine a specific case such as the Tunisian political protest of the late 2010 where
social media played a leading role. We are examining this revolution because it highly studied with big
data methods revealing an objective perspective [Lotan, Gilad. 2011][Eltantawy, N. 2011]. The protest
began with the dramatic public suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor whose produce was
confiscated by authorities [Dupont, C. 2011]. Shortly after this event protests erupted all across the
country with millions in attendance [Dupont, C. 2011][Lotan, Gilad. 2011]. The protesters were mad at
corruption, poor living conditions and lack of opportunity in their country [Lotan, Gilad.
2011][Khondker, H. H. 2011]. The protesters were demanding freer economic policies, a freer election
process, and the ability to speak free of fear of retaliation [Dupont, C. 2011]. These protests caught the
international community and scholars by surprise because of how fast they arose. Also, they did not stay
within the Tunisian boards and quickly spread throughout the region into countries such as Egypt,
Bahrain, Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Oman and Saudi Arabia [Dupont, C.
2011]. The mobilization of these protests shocked many social movement scholar because of how
unpredictable they were, and how well the masses were able to organize [Eltantawy, N 2011][Lotan,
Gilad. 2011]. However, how was all this organization and spread of information so rapid? Social media
might be the answer, in a recent study of public tweets between January 12 and 19, 2011, 168,663 tweets
from Egypt and Tunisian where identity to references the protest and unrest [Lotan, Gilad. 2011]. This
shows that the people were not only voicing their opinion to each other but also to the world. Twitter has
changed the playing field, and could explain why the protest spread so quickly throughout the world. Also
in the same study it was found that 69% of tweets about the Tunisian protest and 70.7% of the tweets
about the Egypt protest came from individuals, not organizations [Lotan, Gilad. 2011]. This shows that it
was a grass-root protest, organized and mobilized by the people. The Egypt government was so scared
and outraged about the use of Twitter in the organization of protests that they even blocked the site within
the country [LaGraffe, D. 2015]. However, these efforts did not go unnoticed, and many activists in
Europe helped set up bootstrapped dial-up connects into the country [Craig Kanalley. 2011][Ding, D.
2015]. So that voices of the world and the Egyptians did not go unheard. The role of Twitter and social
media in these protests is undeniable and demonstrate how much a simple idea such as the internet,
smartphone, and social media can dramatically shift power structures. Moreover, with an informed
population authoritarian control and oppression will not last. These changes also show a revolution in the
world cultural. I’d argue that this use of social media is a positive one because it promotes transparency
and empower the individual. However, this argument will be expanded in the discussion section of this
paper.
Spread of Ideologies
ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) or ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq Syria, and Libya) is a
new international terrorist organization that preaches hate and intolerance. Formed from the chaos of the
Syrian civil war [Terrill, W. A. 2014], ISIS has gained international fame and has claimed responsibility
for the terrorist acts in Paris on November of 2015 [Scott Simmon. 2015]. Using the power of the internet
ISIS has a created a new wave of internet “fan boys”, and following [Chung Yin Yeung. 2015]. Using
these tools, the organization creates propaganda content that spread across the world in seconds. ISIS is
one of the first terrorist organization to systematically taking advantage of these tools and has had great
success. These tools enable the group to recruit creating new fighters for their cause. They accomplish
this by giving the impression that their movement and ideology is growing, however, inaccurate that is
[Chung Yin Yeung. 2015]. This terrorist groups uses the power of social media and the internet to recruit
and spread their message. This is something new in the history of humanity, never before has a group
been able to spread such horrific images and videos with such ease. An images such as public beheading
and mass murders of people that disagree with their ideology. These images support an agenda and show
the systematic control of pollutants out of fear [Chung Yin Yeung. 2015]. ISIS knows the social media
field, and specifically create content that “shareable” meaning videos under five minutes or less [Chung
Yin Yeung. 2015], and microblogs post single lines long. Spreading information throughout the global
and surprisingly most of the content is not distributed from Syria or Iraq [Chung Yin Yeung. 2015]. Now
videos of public beheadings can be emailed back to the victim's family. These tools enable anyone the
able to share and express their ideas no matter how offal they might be. The narrative of their propaganda
is the oppression of the “western world”, and incompatibility of the values and morals of Islam with that
world [Dabiq 2015]. They publish an online magazine called Dabiq, a magazine written in English which
talks about how the crusades rage on, and that these wars are religious [Fisher, Ali. 2015]. Many of the
members of the group were educated in western countries and fell that the western authorities and public
is out to devalue and vandalize all of the moral beliefs of Islam [Dabiq 2015]. However irrational this
conclusion is they show us the possible thought process of the group and gives an understanding of the
narrative of the group.
Discussion
Now that we have seen two different uses of this technology, we will now examine whether these
acts are morally just, or not. It is important first to define what are morals, one definition states that they
are the “principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong” [Dictionary.com].
Whereas, “ethic is the study of what it means ‘to do the right thing’’ [Baase, S. 2003]. So even though
there is a general consensus on what are some of the universe ethical rules [James, W. 1891], there are
still many subjective viewpoints. One can rationalize a moral in many different ways, it is important in
trying to understanding is to take an unbiased “third-party” viewpoint or as John Rawls would as to be as
if “no one knows his place in society, his class position or social status; nor does he know his fortune in
the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence and strength, and the like” [Rawls, J. 1985].
Meaning to imagine that one had never been born and was free of any knowledge of self, yet could think
logically. This thought experiment is used to see whether an action is moral or immoral [Rawls, J. 1985].
Using this framework of thinking lets examine whether the role of social media in protest is moral
and positive or immoral and negative. Let us try to imagine what it would be like to be born into a poor
family of Egypt just struggling to get by, while the poorly managed government can not stop the wheat
prices from going up [Khondker, H. H. 2011][LaGraffe, D. 2012]. This would be incredibly hard, and
maddening, one would want to voice their grievances. And once one person speaks, a cascading effect
happens, people start to realize that they are going through the same struggles as their neighbors and that
their pain is not allowed. One could argue that this illustrates the human nature of compassion, and
empathy. This idea of human nature is also shown by the science of the mirror neurons in our brains
[Gallese, V. 1998]. These neurons allow us to mimic emotions in our head, and could explain the origins
of the golden rule of morals. Alternatively, stated as treat those how you would want to be the treat. So
imagination when a simple a street vendor is robbed by his government [LaGraffe, D. 2012], and his
oppression is made publicly known, how would his neighbors react? Many can relate, and realize that
they do not have to stand for the oppression by authorities. The act of posting about these grievances on
social media can now be morally justified by the fact these people have the natural right to be heard, and
to ask for the change in their government. This logic goes based on the idea that it is human nature to
empathic and to try to understand another trouble. Also, it hopefully clear that one would not want their
business stolen from by their government. So, the spread of information through social media in the form
of political activism is a positive use of the technology if it promotes empathy and understanding.
Now using the same framework as the veil of ignorance let us look at the use of social media in
the extreme political group known as ISIS or ISIL. Using this method one argue that this group is also
speaking out against their grievances and voicing their opinions about the world's affairs. Moreover, in
doing so that there so of social media is a positive and moral use, however, one must keep in mind that is
not the only use of social media which the group employs. They also use social media to spread around
heads and publicly kill on webcam, which makes more grieve for the families, and validates the golden
rule. If ISIS were only using the social media to voice their outrage at the western world, one could justify
it has positive. It would be the ethical thing not to publishes the images of executors, because no one
would want their loved ones to see such horrific acts. This disregard for human life makes this group use
of social moral unjustifiable and illustrates the dark side of its power.
Conclusion
To conclude, social media is pushing world cultures into new a new era of understanding, and
changing the power structure of our society. Our acts are mere pebbles in the pond of time, a pound where
the rebels will be felt for decades to come. The blood of humanity now flows through wire transmitted in
ones and zeroes. Transmitted to every part of the global, out of the reach and control of nations. Seeing
that to understand what it means to be good or bad takes intense logical reasoning. So it is important to
take a “third-party” predictive when evaluating what is moral and immoral. These changes are revealing a
new way of thinking and definition of self within the grander scale of the universe and time. Revealing
that we are all humans living on this earth just as confused as our neighbors and that we are all searching
together to find out what it means to be a positive member of our global society.
References:
1. Rappoport, P., Kridel, D. J., Taylor, L., Alleman, J., & Duffy-Deno, K. T. “Residential demand
for access to the Internet”. Emerging telecommunications networks: The international handbook
of telecommunications economics, 2013. (1) 55-72.
2. Picazo-Vela, Sergio, Isis Gutierrez-Martinez, and Luis Felipe Luna-Reyes. "Understanding risks,
benefits, and strategic alternatives of social media applications in the public sector." Government
Information Quarterly 29.4 (2012): 504-511.
3. Lotan, Gilad, et al. "The Arab Spring| the revolutions were tweeted: Information flows during the
2011 Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions." International journal of communication 5 (2011): 31.
4. Fisher, Ali. "How Jihadist Networks Maintain a Persistent Online Presence." Perspectives on
Terrorism 9.3 (2015).
5. Chung Yin Yeung. “ A Critical Analysis on ISIS Media Strategies”. Academia.edu (20 March
2015) https://www.academia.edu/13555570/ISIS_Propaganda_and_Social_Media_Strategies
6. Bessi, A., Coletto, M., Davidescu, G. A., Scala, A., Caldarelli, G., & Quattrociocchi, W. (2015).
Science vs Conspiracy: collective narratives in the age of misinformation. PloS one, 10(2), 02.
7. Conway, M. (2006). Terrorism and the Internet: new media-new threat?. Parliamentary Affairs,
59(2), 283-298.
8. Featherstone, M. (1990). Global culture: Nationalism, globalization and modernity (Vol. 2).
Sage.
9. Etzioni, A. (1998). The new golden rule: Community and morality in a democratic society. Basic
Books.
10. Liao, X., Jin, H., Liu, Y., Ni, L. M., & Deng, D. (2006, April). AnySee: Peer-to-Peer Live
Streaming. In INFOCOM (Vol. 25, pp. 1-10).
11. DiMaggio, P., & Hargittai, E. (2001). From the ‘digital divide’to ‘digital inequality’: Studying
Internet use as penetration increases. Princeton: Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies,
Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University, 4(1), 4-2.
12. Meijer, A. (2009). Understanding modern transparency. International Review of Administrative
Sciences, 75(2), 255-269.
13. Womack, J. P., Jones, D. T., & Roos, D. (1990). Machine that changed the world. Simon and
Schuster.
14. Andrew Feenberg. (2005). Critical Theory of Technology: An Overview. Simon Fraser
University. Tailoring Biotechnologies 1(1) Winter 2015. pp: 47064
15. Boyd, D., & Crawford, K. (2012). Critical questions for big data: Provocations for a cultural,
technological, and scholarly phenomenon. Information, communication & society, 15(5), 662679.
16. Norman, D. A. (1993). Things that make us smart: Defending human attributes in the age of the
machine. Basic Books.
17. Smith, A. (2013). Smartphone ownership–2013 update. Pew Research Center: Washington DC,
12.
18. Leiner, B. M., Cerf, V. G., Clark, D. D., Kahn, R. E., Kleinrock, L., Lynch, D. C., ... & Wolff, S.
S. (1997). The past and future history of the Internet. Communications of the ACM, 40(2), 102108.
19. Moschovitis, C. J., Poole, H., & Senft, T. M. (1999). History of the Internet: A Chronology, 1843
to the Present. AB C-CLIO, Incorporated.
20. Allan, R. A. (2001). A history of the personal computer: the people and the technology. Allan
Publishing.
21. Lynch, M. (2002). The culture of control: Crime and social order in contemporary society.
PoLAR: Political and Legal Anthropology Review, 25(2), 109-112.
22. Eltantawy, N., & Wiest, J. B. (2011). The Arab spring| Social media in the Egyptian revolution:
reconsidering resource mobilization theory. International Journal of Communication, 5, 18.
23. Dupont, C., & Passy, F. (2011). The Arab Spring or How to Explain those Revolutionary
Episodes?. Swiss Political Science Review, 17(4), 447-451.
24. Khondker, H. H. (2011). Role of the new media in the Arab Spring. Globalizations, 8(5), 675679.
25. LaGraffe, D. (2012). The youth bulge in Egypt: an intersection of demographics, security, and the
Arab Spring. Journal of Strategic Security, 5(2), 9.
26. Ding, D., Conti, M., & Figueiredo, R. (2015, June). Impact of country-scale Internet
disconnection on structured and social P2P overlays. In World of Wireless, Mobile and
Multimedia Networks (WoWMoM), 2015 IEEE 16th International Symposium on a (pp. 1-9).
IEEE.
27. Craig Kanalley, Jake Bialer. Anonymous Internet Users Team Up To Provide Communication
Tools For Egyptian People. Huffington Post. 1 Janaray 2011
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/29/anonymous-internet-egypt_n_815889.html
28. Terrill, W. A. (2014). Understanding the Strengths and Vulnerabilities of ISIS. Parameters,
44(3), 13.
29. Scott Simmon, Dina Temple-Raston. ISIS Claims Responsibility For Paris Killings. National
Public Radio. 14 November 2015 http://www.npr.org/2015/11/14/456007740/isis-claimsresponsibility-for-paris-killings
30. Anonymous ISIS member. Dabiq. Issue 11. September 2015.
http://www.clarionproject.org/docs/Issue%2011%20-%20From%20the%20battle%20of%20AlAhzab%20to%20the%20war%20of%20coalitions.pdf
31. Baase, S. (2003). A gift of fire: Social, legal, and ethical issues for computers and the internet.
Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education.
32. James, W. (1891). The moral philosopher and the moral life. International Journal of Ethics,
1(3), 330-354.
33. Rawls, J. (1985). Justice as fairness: political not metaphysical. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 223251.
34. Gallese, V., & Goldman, A. (1998). Mirror neurons and the simulation theory of mind-reading.
Trends in cognitive sciences, 2(12), 493-501.