Social Media - part 6
The big news today is that Elon Musk has bought Twitter.
My first thought was this is probably a good time to cancel my account. I'm not much of an Elon fan given some of what I've read and some of his comments on SM. He is apparently a big advocate of free speech - but personally I think the concept of free speech has reached a tipping point where it is now used as a weapon rather than for the advancement of those who would have otherwise been oppressed - to me it doesn't support democracy as Elon suggests.
The difficulty I have with free speech is that it seems to be very "bothsidesism" - including voices of hatred and the denigration of others - I can't see the value in that for us as a collective society - yet this is what apparently free speech protects - everyone's right to say whatever they want, regardless of if it is destructive or offensive or incorrect. For some it interpreted that opinions and false information can override science i.e. facts because "free speech" says. I've seen free speech used as a defence or justification by those who say awful, hateful things. The intention of free speech is to give everyone equal power of expression, but I feel it is often used as an attempt to take power away from others or do more harm.
I know free speech is very American and it is viewed a little different here in Australia - but the SM platforms we use are mostly American so the free speech ideology here is strong.
I know I can't fully explore the free speech concept and the complexity of it in the context of social media in this blog, but its misuse is a large incentive for me t to stop using Twitter - especially if Elon is now "in charge".
I'm going to take a watch and see approach - but perhaps Elon's ownership of Twitter will be the catalyst for me to close my account.
Words: 341
The big news today is that Elon Musk has bought Twitter.
My first thought was this is probably a good time to cancel my account. I'm not much of an Elon fan given some of what I've read and some of his comments on SM. He is apparently a big advocate of free speech - but personally I think the concept of free speech has reached a tipping point where it is now used as a weapon rather than for the advancement of those who would have otherwise been oppressed - to me it doesn't support democracy as Elon suggests.
The difficulty I have with free speech is that it seems to be very "bothsidesism" - including voices of hatred and the denigration of others - I can't see the value in that for us as a collective society - yet this is what apparently free speech protects - everyone's right to say whatever they want, regardless of if it is destructive or offensive or incorrect. For some it interpreted that opinions and false information can override science i.e. facts because "free speech" says. I've seen free speech used as a defence or justification by those who say awful, hateful things. The intention of free speech is to give everyone equal power of expression, but I feel it is often used as an attempt to take power away from others or do more harm.
I know free speech is very American and it is viewed a little different here in Australia - but the SM platforms we use are mostly American so the free speech ideology here is strong.
I know I can't fully explore the free speech concept and the complexity of it in the context of social media in this blog, but its misuse is a large incentive for me t to stop using Twitter - especially if Elon is now "in charge".
I'm going to take a watch and see approach - but perhaps Elon's ownership of Twitter will be the catalyst for me to close my account.
Words: 341