From the first radio transmission invented during the Industrial Revolution to the iPhone 14 released in 2022, technology has come a long way. As these developments have benefited humanity in many significant ways, many have been using such technologies as a method to spread hate and afflict the public in many negative ways, such as discrimination through the forms of text and the publicization of distasteful ideals against a certain group of people. As the technological era continues to develop and expand, more individuals became susceptible to the negative impacts of the Internet. Without the proper controls and ordinance from an authority, perhaps this issue will continue to swell over time. Social media and technology have been largely unregulated as a result of online hate speech, political polarization, and widespread disinformation, which identify a huge flaw in the pursuit of liberation as a result.
Online hate speech has been posing a huge issue in our society that signals as a flaw in liberation. Because of the freedom of speech people were granted on the Internet, many have been publicizing offensive thoughts and ideologies that display hate and despisal toward people usually because of their race, sexual orientation, or disability. These hateful comments could pose a huge danger to our generation as they could cause a huge detriment to the mental well-being of its victim, especially adolescents, who tend to be more prone to the negative impact of such attacks. To point out an instance of such targeted discrimination, Asian Americans were found to have an increased experience of racial discrimination online since March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, which resulted in the rising hatred of Asians widespread through the Internet. Anti-Asian attacks on specific individuals and boycotts against businesses owned by Asian Americans began to escalate as a huge problem, with Asian American citizens to the likes of Bawi Cung and his six-year-old son being assaulted by an armed man in Midland, Texas (Wang). This demonstrates how negative influence has been brought to society as a result of such freedom that allowed people to say whatever they want on the Internet, even if it carries much harm.
Moreover, political polarization has been fairly present on the Internet today. With some political groups have taken notice of social media and information dissemination, these parties and officials have been utilizing free speech and information availability to further their own agendas quickly and easily through social media. For example, former president Donald Trump has been using Twitter as a tool to terminate employees, issue war threats, and espouse political beliefs publicly and conveniently. On January 6, 2021, he tweeted the slogan "Be there. will be wild!" to motivate riots on the day of Joe Biden’s inauguration (Barry). However, things quickly turned violent on that day when many decided to attack the United States Capitol, with more than seven deaths as a result. This simply displays the scale of the negative influence that a political official can bring to the world with just a few words they are granted the absolute liberty to use freely. If not monitored carefully, who knows what could happen on a larger scale?
Additionally, widespread disinformation has been present online, with people providing false and inaccurate information to the public, no matter the intention. Although it is widely believed that information openness is a given in the digital age, it has become easier than ever before to fabricate facts and generate unreliable sources because of free speech and wide access to technology. One instance of the spread of false information was when former United States presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was accused of running a child prostitution ring in Washington D.C. in 2016 during her campaign (Libguides). This in turn led to an actual serious consequence, including an investigation of this conspiracy, showing just how dangerous of a tool the Internet can be to create angst and doubt among the people. The capacity to express one's viewpoint and express one's free speech has made it possible for people to spread false information that is persuasive as more began to rely on the Internet. The lack of judicial oversight of false information is another factor that encourages this. Although its effects may seem minimal to some, it is in fact utterly dangerous to feed people incorrect or falsified information on a larger scale. For now, all this just demonstrates how much harm online speech freedom can spur as a result of the unregulated spread of false information.
In conclusion, social media and technology display a flaw in online liberation because of their lack of regulation as a result of online hate speech, political polarization, and widespread conspiracies. Firstly, online hate speech has been widely present on the Internet in the form of targeted discrimination, posing a huge danger to individuals’ mental health. Secondly, political polarization has been a way for political officials to publicize any messages efficiently, which can be hazardous if not controlled properly. Lastly, widespread disinformation has been a huge issue online, with many people being provided with falsified details and inaccurate pieces of knowledge, which can largely influence people’s thoughts and ideals largely, potentially causing a major negative impact. It is of utmost importance that the government take action to ameliorate the situation as a whole and put an end to these issues as soon as possible. Technology and Internet usage have already changed and developed over time so much and so quickly in the past ten years. However, the freedom that was given to people to use whatever words they choose online has been constantly exploited and used with the intent of malevolence and chaos. If this problem continues to augment, who knows what would happen in the next decade?
Work Cited
Barry, Dan, and Sheera Frenkel. “'Be There. Will Be Wild!': Trump All but Circled the Date.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Jan. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/06/us/politics/capitol-mob-trump-supporters.html.
“Libguides: Fake News & Disinformation: Case Studies in Fake News.” Case Studies in Fake News - Fake News & Disinformation - LibGuides at Central Washington University, Central Washington University Libraries, 23 Dec. 2022, https://libguides.lib.cwu.edu/c.php?g=625394&p=4391900.
Wang, Frances Kai-Hwa. “How Violence against Asian Americans Has Grown and How to Stop It, According to Activists.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 11 Apr. 2022, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/a-year-after-atlanta-and-indianapolis-shootings-targeting-asian-americans-activists-say-we-cant-lose-momentum.
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