Netiquette on Social Networking Sites

956 Words2 Pages

New media has opened many doors, created many new opportunities, and allowed an infinite number of people to receive live news feeds via Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. New media has also blurred the lines of personal and public information. Case in point, “Spanking Judge” William Adams is taped by his 16 year old daughter Hilary, spanking her for illegally downloading music and games from the internet (Heinz, 2011). Seven years later, when Judge Adams attempts to confiscate his daughter’s Mercedes after she was misbehaving, Hilary posts the video on YouTube to teach her father a lesson (Heinz). Although his daughter has since stated that she regrets posting the video, the damage that has been done to her family is irreversible (Heinz). Considering examples such as this the question arises as to the creditworthiness of new media versus traditional media sources. Despite Judge Adams remorse over his actions and his apology to his daughter, he has been publically rebuked and humiliated. Posting video content via YouTube is a painless and easy process, one that took little effort for Hilary Adams a few clicks and her families private life became public knowledge internationally. Although abuse should never be tolerated, social media sites transparency prevent individuals from being able to recover from bad choices. These media sites can publically replay situations that were meant to remain in private, ones that would never have been witnessed otherwise. “The highly decentralized nature of the Internet makes it tempting for us to think that the social activity in cyberspace is totally autonomous, free from the kinds of conventions that guide the production of traditional media forms” (Croteau, Hoynes, & Milan, 2012, p. 14... ... middle of paper ... ...become the source for news, challenging and possibly replacing traditional sources. Works Cited Cloud, J. (2011). When Secrets go Viral. Time. 178(20). P. 62. Croteau, D., Hoynes, W., & Milan, S. (2012). Media/society (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Heinz, F. (2011). Texas Judge William Adams accused of beating disabled daughter. Retrieved from, http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Texas-Judge-William-Adams-Accused-of-Beating-Disabled-Daughter-133090233.html Roettgers, J. (2011). YouTube’s top channels rival cable audiences. Retrieved from, http://gigaom.com/video/youtube-vs-cable-stats/ YouTube. (2011). Fresh footage of huge tsunami waves smashing town in Japan. Retrieved from, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRDpTEjumdo YouTube. (2011). A talented father-daughter duo! Retrieved from, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLu73iGs-Ws&feature=related

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