On Twitter Ban and Social Media

In today's techie era characterized by virtual sharing of life experiences, pictures, advocacies, and opinions, the role of social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube is unprecedented. The internet has given the people an easy platform where they can easily click the "upload" button and share them exactly to the whole world. These sites are beneficial in reconnecting lost communication with old-days friends, in receiving real-time updates from celebrities and family, in forwarding advocacies against hunger, food and water security, and what have you. In short, these sites have become part of today's modern lifestyle. But there's more than that...

The irresponsible use of social media has prompted some governments to shut them down. In China for example, Facebook and YouTube are banned. The uproar reached Turkey when March 20, 2014 Thursday Twitter was banned and Facebook and YouTube are expected to follow after the local elections on March 30. As to what prompted the government to shut Twitter down was clear; the reason is political in nature.

Twitter refused to abide to "hundreds of court rulings" ordering the removal of content deemed illegal. (Read the full article of Rappler here). Tweets of illegally acquired recordings, fake and fabricated records of wire tapping continued to circulate as means to carry out systematic character assassinations, in a statement of Office of the Prime Minester sent to AFP in English.

Many were angered after the decision and claimed that this was a major backlash to PM Erodgan's claim Turkey being a model of democracy. But there's something in me that go against the majority's opinion. 

I agree that social networking sites are important because I too use them to communicate with my family and friends and share information I deemed necessary. Without them, my life would change a little. But some people use them to forward their own political agendas even it means circulating false information and spread massive lies to misinform citizens. The irresponsible use of social media is not exclusive to a single country, it practically persists in any country even in my own. Don't get me wrong, my opinion is more of a general one not pointing to a specific country or nation.  Just to be clear.

To say goodbye or not to social networking sites?

 

Democracy lies in three core principles: A government of the people, for the people, and by the people. In simple terms, it means the power lies to the people. In a democratic country, for example, if you don't like your leader, you can revolt against him. The people have rights that the government has to respect and protect. But what is being left unattended usually is the fact that in every right, there's a corresponding responsibility. I often hear of people saying "It's my right to express myself freely without any intimidation." Yes, I do agree. But as what I have learned from my debate sessions in the past, the classic "Your right ends when my right begins"  applies in many situations.

It is your right to exercise freedom of expression but if the way you exercise you right prohibits other people from exercising their other right, then your right ends. I have the right to correct and true information but if you think sharing a tweet with malicious content is covered by your right to expression, don't get me wrong but you have to check your morals and ethics. In the internet, to determine who tells the truth and who's the cursed liar is a difficult task. Now, check your tweets and statuses  by yourself. If you think you've wrote under the power of your conscious, active, believing, and morally upright mind, I rest my case. 

Second. People are born equally, but not identical. I don't want to sound so insensitive here. But let's face the reality that some are far better than the other. I believe information is a power and once you have it, you have to be responsible in using it. Different people have different mental utilities that determine the degree of information that they can take, understand and appropriately respond to. If the information you shared after clicking the "Upload" button reaches the people who cannot appropriately interpret it, you created another problem instead of clarifying things. Not all people will understand your intent, some can not fully synthesize a seemingly simple tweet or status. Call me hypocrite but I believe denying access to some information for some people is justifiable. After all, any government is committed to protect its citizens even if it means denying access.

The problem is worsened when people indiscriminately click the "Share" or "Retweet" button without further research or confirming whether the things they are sharing is the truth. In times like now that the access to everything is just a click away, people have become too lazy to take an extra minutes to read more and analyze harder. What you share partly mentions of who really you are, how you see current situationss and analyze them. So the next time you click the button, ask yourself if that's the truth and if you're confused, that indicates you have to read more.

Advice. And in reading especially news articles, don't just read. Read carefully with your critical thinking in full alert. There was this "Share"d news by an FB friend who wrote "Facebook will be closed down after March 30." The mistake? The news headline actually reads "Erdogan may shut down Facebook." In the transmission of information, careful use of word is necessary as in this example where "will be" and "may" denotes two different things.

When our Hocam (teacher) asked us which political party do we support, majority said nothing. This is because we're foreigners and we don't have rights of citizenship like right to suffrage. However, I did mentioned that I like PM Erdogan for many reasons I cannot write them here since it's out of the scope.  

"Where do I stand on this issue?" you ask.

"Where DO I stand? I ask myself.

 (DISCLAIMER: This is my own opinion and I don't intend to aggravate any party.)