Social media’s good and bad
It was social media that helped spark a single girl’s protest over climate inaction into a student strike in 100 countries. And it was social media that helped a gunman in Christchurch spread his message of hate. It was the good and the bad of this century’s favourite way to connect in action.
On Friday morning, I was exhilarated to see thousands of placard-bearing youths marching through Wellington demanding urgent action on climate change. The peaceful march was followed by speeches from articulate and passionate students who gave me hope for our future.
It was wonderful to know that, through the facilitation of social media, this protest was mirrored in 100 countries.
It was social media that ensured the story of 15-year-old Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg’s daily protest ricocheted around the world sparking the students, inspiring a whole new generation with the power of collective action.
But less than five hours later, the same social media companies were helplessly racing to shut down the video recordings taken by the man who killed 50 people in Christchurch mosques, and which he had posted on their channels.
At the same time, his muddled manifesto was readily attainable on Twitter.
We don’t know yet, but it is likely that social media channels helped radicalise the gunman, feeding his racism as he connected with those holding similar views in some kind of hate conspiracy. Buoyed by the views of others who thought like him, he may well have felt licensed to do what he did.
What was the most damaging indictment for social media was the tech giants’ inability to control the spread of the killer’s 17-minute video, with users quickly making copies and reposting faster than censors could keep up.
Screen shots were created from still frames and uploaded to new sites, where they were shared and re-shared.
This man’s violent acts have stunned New Zealand, but, surely, we are also alarmed at the vast additional harm caused by his social media posts reaching the world – and, worse, that no-one was able to stop it spreading.
We must ask ourselves: Is social media not only used to amplify the terror, but is it the power of the medium that fosters the act in the first place.
Some time ago I wrote a column about the despicable views of rape culture expressed by high school boys. That incident generated an outpouring from young women, on the same platforms, that rape conversations had become the norm on social media and no-one appeared to have the power to stop it. Have we created a medium we have lost control of?
At its best, social media can connect us, help us communicate, empathise, bond, make friends and develop important relationships worldwide. At its worst, the messages are cruel, brutal, hateful and deadly; and easily able to find those willing to listen.
The student strikes were an example of how social media can be used to encourage us to take a stand and influence change at an incredible rate.
It also allowed us to share messages of love and support within moments of hearing the terrible news of the Christchurch shootings.
Tech giants say they are taking charge of the content within their platforms, but the experience of Friday shows they have a long way to go in controlling what currently appears to be the uncontrollable.
Social media is not going away. We must find a way to make it work for good, not evil.