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Debate: Harmfulness of Facebook
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Revision as of 20:18, 27 October 2010 (edit) Blinxwang (Talk | contribs) (→Pro) ← Previous diff |
Current revision (22:08, 4 January 2011) (edit) Brooks Lindsay (Talk | contribs) |
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===This House believes that Facebook does more harm than good=== | ===This House believes that Facebook does more harm than good=== | ||
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*'''Facebook news feeds generally makes people feel exposed and invaded:''' Danah Boyd, social networking scholar and blogger noted in 2006, "privacy is an experience that people have, not a state of data....When people feel exposed or invaded, there's a privacy issue."[http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2006/09/facebook.html] | *'''Facebook news feeds generally makes people feel exposed and invaded:''' Danah Boyd, social networking scholar and blogger noted in 2006, "privacy is an experience that people have, not a state of data....When people feel exposed or invaded, there's a privacy issue."[http://www.motherjones.com/interview/2006/09/facebook.html] | ||
- | *'''[[Argument: Most Facebook users don't understand privacy implications of news feeds| Many Facebook users don't understand the privacy implications of allowing news feeds (Therefore, News Feed should be an opt-in rather than an opt-out function)]]'''. While it is true that users can opt-out of News Feed, this assumes that they would understand the implications of ''not'' opting out. The implication of not opting out of news feed is quite profound. Users can view every action you take on Facebook. This creates a general window of public observation of an individual's activities that can have a profound effect on the behaviour of that individual. Some cite this environment of constant observation as a '''panopticon''', a “constant view of individuals through parasocietal mechanisms that influence behavior simply because of the possibility of being observed.” This environment of the constant potential for observation and surveillance dramatically effects behavior by making individuals constantly on-guard under the public observation glass. Yet, those that choose not to opt-out of "news feed" are not likely to consider the profound behavioral implications of these actions. Also, Facebook tends to hide the privacy features of people's accounts and sets the settings to a very visible default. An example of the effects of this is http://www.openbook.org/, which is an independent search engine for Facebook statuses. | + | *'''[[Argument: Most Facebook users don't understand privacy implications of news feeds| Many Facebook users don't understand the privacy implications of allowing news feeds (Therefore, News Feed should be an opt-in rather than an opt-out function)]]'''. While it is true that users can opt-out of News Feed, this assumes that they would understand the implications of ''not'' opting out. The implication of not opting out of news feed is quite profound. Users can view every action you take on Facebook. This creates a general window of public observation of an individual's activities that can have a profound effect on the behaviour of that individual. Some cite this environment of constant observation as a '''panopticon''', a “constant view of individuals through parasocietal mechanisms that influence behavior simply because of the possibility of being observed.” This environment of the constant potential for observation and surveillance dramatically effects behavior by making individuals constantly on-guard under the public observation glass. Yet, those that choose not to opt-out of "news feed" are not likely to consider the profound behavioral implications of these actions. Also, Facebook tends to hide the privacy features of people's accounts and sets the settings to a very visible default. An example of the effects of this is http://www.youropenbook.org/, which is an independent search engine for Facebook statuses. |
*'''Social networking sites give too great of access and control to governments.''' [http://www.aclunc.org/issues/technology/blog/facebook_not_as_private_as_you_might_think.shtml ACLU. "Facebook Not as Private as You Might Think" Retrieved 11.29.07] - "Thanks to some pre-Internet Supreme Court cases such as Smith v. Maryland, the Fourth Amendment does not apply to information held by a third parties like Facebook. The government does not need to have a court-ordered warrant to obtain your personal information held by Facebook- it just needs to ask for it with a subpoena. | *'''Social networking sites give too great of access and control to governments.''' [http://www.aclunc.org/issues/technology/blog/facebook_not_as_private_as_you_might_think.shtml ACLU. "Facebook Not as Private as You Might Think" Retrieved 11.29.07] - "Thanks to some pre-Internet Supreme Court cases such as Smith v. Maryland, the Fourth Amendment does not apply to information held by a third parties like Facebook. The government does not need to have a court-ordered warrant to obtain your personal information held by Facebook- it just needs to ask for it with a subpoena. | ||
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===Friendships: Does Facebook harm relationships?=== | ===Friendships: Does Facebook harm relationships?=== | ||
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- | ===Information: Does Facebook help spread "undesirable" information? Does it matter?=== | + | ===Crime: Does Facebook present a threat?=== |
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====Pro==== | ====Pro==== | ||
- | *'''Social networking sites are a major distraction from learning.''' People are spending far too much time on social networking sites, and away from books, newspapers, and other educational resources. The information contained in social networking sites is generally shallow and trivial as compared to these other valuable sources of learning. Since there is limited time in the day and in life, that a growing proportion of that time is being spent by individuals on social networking sites is a major problem to the general education of the public. | + | *'''Social networking sites make it possible to maintain fictional identity.''' Social networking sites allow people to create a "mask" and claim to be a completely different person from who they really are. |
- | *'''Facebook fosters hate speech.''' Racist, xenophobic, extremist and other "hate speech" groups attract hundreds of members, who are not prosecuted, although hate speech is (in most countries) illegal. | + | *'''Facebook suits criminals perfectly.''' Thanks to "open" privacy setting and the main purpose of Facebook - sharing as much information as possible - this social networking site becomes a safe haven for stalkers, pedophiles, etc. |
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- | *'''Inappropriate content is not restricted by age.''' Even though Facebook - in theory - tries to prevent young children from having their own profile, in practice are its controls ineffective, as the only "proof" of someone's age is his or her own confirmation. Therefore even young children have access to certain inappropriate content (groups, fan pages, videos, photos), which can be morally damaging. | + | |
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====Con==== | ====Con==== | ||
- | *'''Facebook promotes freedom of speech.''' Facebook is sometimes the only tool to express someone's opinion in a politically unfree country that restricts basic human rights and freedoms. | + | *'''Information is disclosed and shared voluntarily and based on privacy setting.''' Users are rational people who can protect themselves by adjusting privacy settings and choosing which information they want to share. |
- | *'''Inappropriate content is being reported and removed.''' | ||
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- | *'''Facebook can be used for educational purposes.''' Because Facebook makes information- and file-sharing easier, it is an ideal tool for students to share materials or discuss important issues. | ||
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- | ===Crime: Does Facebook present a threat?=== | + | ===Information: Does Facebook help spread "undesirable" information? Does it matter?=== |
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====Pro==== | ====Pro==== | ||
- | *'''Social networking sites make it possible to maintain fictional identity.''' Social networking sites allow people to create a "mask" and claim to be a completely different person from who they really are. | + | *'''Social networking sites are a major distraction from learning.''' People are spending far too much time on social networking sites, and away from books, newspapers, and other educational resources. The information contained in social networking sites is generally shallow and trivial as compared to these other valuable sources of learning. Since there is limited time in the day and in life, that a growing proportion of that time is being spent by individuals on social networking sites is a major problem to the general education of the public. |
- | *'''Facebook suits criminals perfectly.''' Thanks to "open" privacy setting and the main purpose of Facebook - sharing as much information as possible - this social networking site becomes a safe haven for stalkers, pedophiles, etc. | + | *'''Facebook fosters hate speech.''' Racist, xenophobic, extremist and other "hate speech" groups attract hundreds of members, who are not prosecuted, although hate speech is (in most countries) illegal. |
+ | |||
+ | *'''Inappropriate content is not restricted by age.''' Even though Facebook - in theory - tries to prevent young children from having their own profile, in practice are its controls ineffective, as the only "proof" of someone's age is his or her own confirmation. Therefore even young children have access to certain inappropriate content (groups, fan pages, videos, photos), which can be morally damaging. | ||
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====Con==== | ====Con==== | ||
- | *'''Information is disclosed and shared voluntarily and based on privacy setting.''' Users are rational people who can protect themselves by adjusting privacy settings and choosing which information they want to share. | + | *'''Facebook promotes freedom of speech.''' Facebook is sometimes the only tool to express someone's opinion in a politically unfree country that restricts basic human rights and freedoms. |
+ | *'''Inappropriate content is being reported and removed.''' | ||
+ | |||
+ | *'''Facebook can be used for educational purposes.''' Because Facebook makes information- and file-sharing easier, it is an ideal tool for students to share materials or discuss important issues. | ||
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*[[Debate: Should Facebook ban groups that deny the Holocaust?]] | *[[Debate: Should Facebook ban groups that deny the Holocaust?]] | ||
*[[Debate: Facebook news feed and privacy]] | *[[Debate: Facebook news feed and privacy]] | ||
- | *[[Debate: Are social networking sites a great distraction from education?]] | + | *[[Debate: Are social networking sites a major distraction from education?]] |
*[[Debate: Social networking sites]] | *[[Debate: Social networking sites]] | ||
*[[Debate: Social networking sites should not allow users under 18]] | *[[Debate: Social networking sites should not allow users under 18]] |
Current revision
[Edit] This House believes that Facebook does more harm than good |
[Edit] Background and context |
[Edit] [ ![]() Privacy: Does Facebook infringe upon privacy rights? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Friendships: Does Facebook harm relationships? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Crime: Does Facebook present a threat? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Information: Does Facebook help spread "undesirable" information? Does it matter? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Unique harms: Are there any harms unique to Facebook? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Waste of time: Is Facebook just a waste of time? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Human factor: Is it Facebook, or its users doing harm? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Culture: Does Facebook harm our culture? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] [ ![]() Commercial use of info: Is the commercial use of personal information unethical? | |
[Edit] Pro
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[Edit] Con
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[Edit] See also
[Edit] External links and resources: |