Misinformation: Misinformation is abundant in this day and age and it is extremely easy to get lost in the sea of false facts and poorly researched reposts. People will accept the first thing they see as true and then do no further research, contributing to a greater mass of informed people who can't properly debate because they aren't sure what they are talking about.
Censorship Policies: I understand that it is important for companies and social media to prevent slurs and harmful messages from being spread across their site, but censoring any conversation that may not be politically correct or is offensive doesn't allow for proper discussion as to why something might be offensive or why messages are harmful. Without allowing the space for discussion, things will never change and people will never learn about anything outside of their personal viewpoint.
Sexualization of Nudity: Nudity is not graphic or sexual, but most people assume it is. Instead of being considered a part of life, completely natural, or artistic, talking about the human body has been relegated as taboo and any full diagrams or discussions as "pornographic". Social media also has a nudity double standard with a gender bias that sexualizes one body while saying the other is socially acceptable.
Age Restrictions: Having things restricted to certain ages because of their content is a fine idea, but it implies that people of certain ages haven't already been exposed to such "mature" topics, an assumption many people cannot afford in this day and age. Assuming a thirteen-year-old has never been exposed to violence or nudity robs these individuals of being able to educate themselves on topics such as bodily autonomy and how to defend themselves against violent situations.
Hate Speech: As we covered earlier, hate speech is a form of verbal violence that should be considered action instead of speech, but there are those who use free speech as an excuse to be hateful and threatening with no repercussions. This is a threat to those who only want to be able to freely speak their mind without fear of violence, as it paints all people who want free speech as perpetrators of violence and hate.
The government can't punish you for saying whatever you want and therefore you have free speech. But that does not mean you won't be punished by people. The government can't give you rules on what you can and can't say, but social media does have guidelines and will hold you responsible for what you say. And if they don't, the public court of the internet will.
Cancel Culture: You will be "cancelled" for saying something racist or oppressive or even just not aligning with a certain viewpoint. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, I'm just saying it will happen to you if you aren't careful of what you say.
Everything you say on the internet is available for the world to see and it will be used against you in the court of public opinion. There have been cases where people have said something racist when they were kids, but when it was time to apply for colleges, the administrators saw their old post and rejected their application. It's not the government punishing you, so it isn't against the law or a violation of your free speech. You can say anything you want! But you will face social repercussions.
Anything you post can be seen by family, schools, future employers, future partners, so if you don't want those people to know, maybe don't post it.
If you think your rights have been violated by someone, address it. Talk to someone about what happened and figure out a way to respond, be it legally or in another way.
If someone says something that you don't agree with in a public space and you feel safe to do so, start a conversation. You might not change their mind, but you can know you didn't violate their rights in your argument.
Like I said earlier, what you post online will follow you for the rest of your life, so watch what you post. If you wouldn't feel comfortable reading it in front of a crowd for fear of backlash, maybe don't hit post.
Legally, you won't be punished for what you said, but understand that each social sphere has different rules. If you are in school, you can't scream slurs and threaten people, because your administrators will punish you. Your don't scream swear words at your place of worship because people will treat you differently. Weigh the risk.
Tell your peers, classmates, family members, community members, anyone about their first amendment rights. Help them when they feel at a loss about what to say and what not to say, what's protected and what's not, and when in doubt, do some research! Ask questions. People are more willingly to help you learn than you'd think.
Adding a trigger warning could save the day. Some people don't want to see violence or discussion of certain topics, but that doesn't mean you don't have to post about it. Adding a labelled trigger warning allows for people who don't want to look the chance to scroll away and you can't get "cancelled" for posting something others might not want to see.
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