what moral obligations does facebook and google have to its consumers

Open access peer-reviewed chapter

Social Media, Ethics and the Privacy Paradox

Submitted: September 11th, 2019 Reviewed: December 19th, 2019 Published: February fifth, 2020

DOI: 10.5772/intechopen.90906

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Abstract

Today's information/digital age offers widespread employ of social media. The use of social media is ubiquitous and cuts across all age groups, social classes and cultures. However, the increased use of these media is accompanied by privacy bug and ethical concerns. These privacy problems can have far-reaching professional, personal and security implications. Ultimate privacy in the social media domain is very difficult considering these media are designed for sharing information. Participating in social media requires persons to ignore some personal, privacy constraints resulting in some vulnerability. The weak individual privacy safeguards in this space have resulted in unethical and undesirable behaviors resulting in privacy and security breaches, specially for the most vulnerable group of users. An exploratory study was conducted to examine social media usage and the implications for personal privacy. Nosotros investigated how some of the requirements for participating in social media and how unethical apply of social media tin impact users' privacy. Results indicate that if users of these networks pay attending to privacy settings and the type of information shared and attach to universal, fundamental, moral values such as mutual respect and kindness, many privacy and unethical issues can be avoided.

Keywords

• privacy
• ethics
• social media

• Nadine Barrett-Maitland*

  • University of Engineering science, Jamaica, West Indies

• Jenice Lynch

  • University of Technology, Jamaica, West Indies

*Address all correspondence to: nadinemland@yahoo.com

1. Introduction

The use of social media is growing at a rapid pace and the 20-first century could be described as the "boom" period for social networking. According to reports provided by Smart Insights, every bit at February 2019 in that location were over 3.484 billion social media users. The Smart Insight report indicates that the number of social media users is growing by nine% annually and this trend is estimated to continue. Before long the number of social media users represents 45% of the global population [one]. The heaviest users of social media are "digital natives"; the group of persons who were born or who have grown up in the digital era and are intimate with the various technologies and systems, and the "Millennial Generation"; those who became adults at the plow of the twenty-first century. These groups of users utilize social media platforms for just about anything ranging from marketing, news conquering, pedagogy, health intendance, civic engagement, and politicking to social date.

The unethical employ of social media has resulted in the breach of private privacy and impacts both concrete and information security. Reports in 2019 [i], reveal that persons between the ages eight and xi years spend an average thirteen.5 hours weekly online and 18% of this age group are actively engaged on social media. Those between ages 12 and xv spend on average 20.5 hours online and 69% of this group are agile social media users. While children and teenagers represent the largest Internet user groups, for the most part they do non know how to protect their personal information on the Spider web and are the most vulnerable to cyber-crimes related to breaches of data privacy [2, 3].

In today'due south IT-configured society data is ane of, if not the most, valuable asset for well-nigh businesses/organizations. Organizations and governments collect information via several ways including invisible data gathering, marketing platforms and search engines such as Google [four]. Information can exist attained from several sources, which tin be fused using technology to develop consummate profiles of individuals. The information on social media is very attainable and can be of great value to individuals and organizations for reasons such as marketing, etc.; hence, data is retained by about companies for future use.

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2. Privacy

Privacy or the right to savor liberty from unauthorized intrusion is the negative right of all human beings. Privacy is defined as the correct to exist left lonely, to be free from hush-hush surveillance, or unwanted disclosure of personal data or information past government, corporation, or individual (dictionary.com). In this chapter we volition define privacy loosely, as the correct to command access to personal information. Supporters of privacy posit that it is a necessity for human dignity and individuality and a fundamental element in the quest for happiness. According to Baase [5] in the volume titled "A Gift of Fire: Social, Legal and Upstanding Issues for Computing and the Net," privacy is the power to control information most i' s cocky as well as the freedom from surveillance from being followed, tracked, watched, and existence eavesdropped on. In this regard, ignoring privacy rights often leads to inroad on natural rights.

Privacy, or fifty-fifty the thought that ane has this right, leads to peace of mind and can provide an environment of solitude. This solitude tin can permit people to breathe freely in a infinite that is free from interference and intrusion. According to Richards and Solove [half dozen], Legal scholar William Prosser argued that privacy cases tin be classified into iv related "torts," namely:

1. Intrusion—this tin be viewed equally encroachment (physical or otherwise) on ones liberties/solitude in a highly offensive way.

2. Privacy facts—making public, private data nigh someone that is of no "legitimate concern" to anyone.

3. False light—making public false and "highly offensive" data about others.

4. Appropriation—stealing someone's identity (name, likeness) to gain advantage without the permission of the private.

Engineering science, the digital age, the Internet and social media take redefined privacy nevertheless equally surveillance is no longer express to a certain pre-defined infinite and location. An understanding of the bug and dangers of privacy in the digital space is therefore the start footstep to privacy control. While there can be articulate distinctions between informational privacy and physical privacy, every bit pointed out earlier, intrusion can be both concrete and otherwise.

This affiliate volition focus on informational privacy which is the ability to command access to personal information. We examine privacy issues in the social media context focusing primarily on personal information and the ability to command external influences. We suggest that breach of informational privacy tin touch on: confinement (the correct to be left alone), intimacy (the right non to be monitored), and anonymity (the right to have no public personal identity and by extension physical privacy impacted). The right to control access to facts or personal information in our view is a natural, inalienable right and everyone should have command over who see their personal information and how information technology is disseminated.

In May 2019 the General Information Protection Regulation (GDPR) conspicuously outlined that it is unlawful to procedure personal data without the consent of the individual (bailiwick). It is a legal requirement under the GDPR that privacy notices be given to individuals that outline how their personal information volition be processed and the conditions that must be met that brand the consent valid. These are:

1. "Freely given—an individual must exist given a genuine choice when providing consent and it should generally be unbundled from other terms and conditions (e.g., access to a service should not exist conditional upon consent being given)."

2. "Specific and informed—this means that data subjects should be provided with information every bit to the identity of the controller(s), the specific purposes, types of processing, as well as being informed of their right to withdraw consent at any time."

3. "Explicit and unambiguous—the data subject field must conspicuously express their consent (e.g., by actively ticking a box which confirms they are giving consent—pre-ticked boxes are bereft)."

4. "Under 13s—children under the historic period of thirteen cannot provide consent and it is therefore necessary to obtain consent from their parents."

Arguments can be made that privacy is a cultural, universal necessity for harmonious relationships among human beings and creates the boundaries for appointment and disengagement. Privacy tin too be viewed every bit instrumental good because information technology is a requirement for the evolution of certain kinds of human relationships, intimacy and trust [7]. Even so, achieving privacy is much more difficult in light of constant surveillance and the inability to decide the levels of interaction with various publics [7]. Some critics argue that privacy provides protection against anti-social behaviors such as trickery, disinformation and fraud, and is thought to be a universal right [five]. Still, privacy tin can also exist viewed as relative equally privacy rules may differ based on several factors such every bit "climate, faith, technological advocacy and political arrangements" [8, 9]. The need for privacy is an objective reality though it can exist viewed every bit "culturally rational" where the need for personal privacy is viewed every bit relative based on culture. One example is the button by the government, businesses and Singaporeans to brand Singapore a smart nation. According to GovTech 2018 reports there is a push by the regime in Singapore to harness the data "new gold" to develop systems that can make life easier for its people. The [10] report points out that Singapore is using sensors robots Smart Water Cess Network (SWAN) to monitor h2o quality in its reservoirs, seeking to build smart health system and to build a smart transportation arrangement to name a few. In this example privacy tin can exist draw as "culturally rational" and the rules in general could differ based on technological advancement and political arrangements.

In today's networked society information technology is naïve and sick-conceived to think that privacy is over-rated and there is no need to be concerned about privacy if you have done zilch incorrect [v]. The effects of data flow tin can be circuitous and may not be merely about protection for people who have something to hide. Inaccurate information flow can have adverse long-term implications for individuals and companies. Consider a scenario where someone'due south computer or tablet is stolen. The perpetrator uses identification information stored on the device to admission their social media page which could lead to admission to their contacts, friends and friends of their "friends" then participate in illegal activities and engage in anti-social activities such every bit hacking, spreading viruses, fraud and identity theft. The victim is now in danger of existence accused of criminal intentions, or worse. These kinds of situations are possible because of applied science and networked systems. Users of social media need to exist enlightened of the risks that are associated with participation.

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3. Social media

The concept of social networking pre-dates the Internet and mass communication every bit people are said to be social creatures who when working in groups tin achieve results in a value greater than the sunday of its parts [xi]. The explosive growth in the apply of social media over the past decade has made it ane of the most popular Internet services in the world, providing new avenues to "come across and be seen" [12, xiii]. The employ of social media has changed the communication landscape resulting in changes in upstanding norms and behavior. The unprecedented level of growth in usage has resulted in the reduction in the utilise of other media and changes in areas including borough and political engagement, privacy and rubber [14]. Alexa, a company that keeps track of traffic on the Web, indicates that as of Baronial, 2019 YouTube, Facebook and Twitter are amid the pinnacle iv (iv) virtually visited sites with merely Google, beingness the near popular search engine, surpassing these social media sites.

Social media sites tin can be described as online services that allow users to create profiles which are "public, semi-public" or both. Users may create private profiles and/or become a part of a grouping of people with whom they may exist acquainted offline [15]. They too provide avenues to create virtual friendships. Through these virtual friendships, people may access details about their contacts ranging from personal background data and interests to location. Social networking sites provide diverse tools to facilitate communication. These include chat rooms, blogs, private letters, public comments, ways of uploading content external to the site and sharing videos and photographs. Social media is therefore drastically changing the fashion people communicate and class relationships.

Today social media has proven to be 1 of the most, if not the most effective medium for the dissemination of information to various audiences. The power of this medium is astounding and ranges from its ability to overturn governments (e.g., Moldova), to mobilize protests, assist with getting back up for humanitarian help, organize political campaigns, organize groups to delay the passing of legislation (equally in the instance with the copyright bill in Canada) to making social media billionaires and millionaires [sixteen, 17]. The enabling nature and the structure of the media that social networking offers provide a wide range of opportunities that were nonexistent earlier applied science. Facebook and YouTube marketers and trainers provide two examples. Today people tin can interact with and learn from people millions of miles away. The global reach of this medium has removed all former pre-defined boundaries including geographical, social and any other that existed previously. Technological advancements such every bit Web 2.0 and Web 4.0 which provide the framework for collaboration, take given new pregnant to life from various perspectives: political, institutional and social.

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four. Privacy and social media

Social medial and the information/digital era have "redefined" privacy. In today'southward Data Technology—configured societies, where at that place is continuous monitoring, privacy has taken on a new significant. Technologies such as closed-excursion cameras (CCTV) are prevalent in public spaces or in some private spaces including our work and home [seven, 18]. Personal computers and devices such as our smart phones enabled with Global Positioning Organisation (GPS), Geo locations and Geo maps connected to these devices make privacy as we know it, a thing of the past. Recent reports signal that some of the largest companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook as well every bit various government agencies are collecting information without consent and storing information technology in databases for future use. It is most impossible to say privacy exists in this digital world (@nowthisnews).

The open nature of the social networking sites and the avenues they provide for sharing data in a "public or semi-public" space create privacy concerns by their very construct. Information that is inappropriate for some audiences are many times inadvertently made visible to groups other than those intended and can sometimes effect in future negative outcomes. One such example is a well-known case recorded in an article entitled "The Web Means the Terminate of Forgetting" that involved a young adult female who was denied her college license because of backlash from photographs posted on social media in her individual engagement.

Technology has reduced the gap between professional and personal spaces and ofttimes results in information exposure to the wrong audience [19]. The reduction in the separation of professional and personal spaces tin can bear on image direction particularly in a professional person setting resulting in the erosion of traditional professional person image and impression management. Determining the secondary use of personal information and those who take access to this information should be the prerogative of the individual or grouping to whom the information belongs. However, engaging in social media activities has removed this control.

Privacy on social networking sites (SNSs) is heavily dependent on the users of these networks because sharing information is the main way of participating in social communities. Privacy in SNSs is "multifaceted." Users of these platforms are responsible for protecting their data from third-party data drove and managing their personal profiles. Still, participants are normally more willing to give personal and more than individual data in SNSs than anywhere else on the Internet. This can be attributed to the feeling of community, comfort and family that these media provide for the near part. Privacy controls are not the priority of social networking site designers and just a modest number of the young adolescent users change the default privacy settings of their accounts [20, 21]. This opens the door for breaches especially among the most vulnerable user groups, namely immature children, teenagers and the elderly. The nature of social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and other social media platforms cause users to re-evaluate and ofttimes alter their personal privacy standards in society to participate in these social networked communities [xiii].

While in that location are tremendous benefits that can be derived from the effective use of social media there are some unavoidable risks that are involved in its apply. Much attention should therefore be given to what is shared in these forums. Social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are said to be the about constructive media to communicate to Generation Y'southward (Gen Y's), as teens and immature adults are the largest user groups on these platforms [22]. However, according to Bolton et al. [22] Gen Y's use of social media, if left unabated and unmonitored will have long-term implications for privacy and appointment in borough activities as this continuous use is resulting in changes in behavior and social norms also as increased levels of cyber-crime.

Today social networks are becoming the platform of option for hackers and other perpetrators of antisocial behavior. These media offer large volumes of information/information ranging from an private's engagement of birth, place of residence, place of work/business, to data nigh family unit and other personal activities. In many cases users unintentionally disclose data that can be both dangerous and inappropriate. Information regarding activities on social media can accept far reaching negative implications for one's hereafter. A few examples of situations which can, and have been affected are employment, visa acquisition, and college acceptance. Indiscriminate participation has also resulted in situations such identity theft and bank fraud only to listing a few. Protecting privacy in today's networked society tin can be a nifty challenge. The digital revolution has indeed distorted our views of privacy, however, there should be clear distinctions between what should be seen past the general public and what should be limited to a selected group. One school of idea is that the but way to have privacy today is not to share information in these networked communities. Yet, achieving privacy and control over information flows and disclosure in networked communities is an ongoing process in an environment where contexts change quickly and are sometimes blurred. This requires intentional construction of systems that are designed to mitigate privacy issues [13].

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five. Ethics and social media

Ideals can be loosely divers as "the right matter to do" or it tin be described as the moral philosophy of an individual or group and usually reflects what the individual or group views equally good or bad. Information technology is how they allocate item situations by categorizing them as right or wrong. Ethics can too be used to refer to whatsoever classification or philosophy of moral values or principles that guides the actions of an individual or group [23]. Upstanding values are intended to be guiding principles that if followed, could yield harmonious results and relationships. They seek to requite answers to questions such as "How should I be living? How do I achieve the things that are deemed important such as knowledge and happiness or the acquisition of attractive things?" If i chooses happiness, the side by side question that needs to be answered is "Whose happiness should it be; my own happiness or the happiness of others?" In the domain of social media, some of the ethical questions that must be contemplated and ultimately answered are [24]:

• Tin this post be regarded as oversharing?

• Has the data in this post been distorted in anyhow?

• What impact will this post have on others?

Equally previously mentioned, users within the ages viii–xv represent one of the largest social media user groups. These immature persons within the 8–15 age range are however learning how to collaborate with the people around them and are deciding on the moral values that they will comprehend. These moral values will help to dictate how they will interact with the earth around them. The ethical values that guide our interactions are ordinarily formulated from some moral principle taught to us by someone or a group of individuals including parents, guardians, religious groups, and teachers only to proper noun a few. Many of the Gen Y's/"Digital Babies" are "newbies" nevertheless are required to determine for themselves the level of responsibility they volition brandish when using the varying social media platforms. This includes considering the bear on a post volition have on their lives and/or the lives of other persons. They must also empathize that when they join a social media network, they are joining a customs in which certain behavior must exist exhibited. Such responsibility requires a much greater level of maturity than can exist expected from them at that age.

It is not uncommon for individuals to post fifty-fifty the smallest details of their lives from the moment they wake up to when they go to bed. They will openly share their location, what they eat at every meal or details near activities typically considered private and personal. They volition besides share likes and dislikes, thoughts and emotional states and for the near part this has become an accepted norm. Oft times all the same, these shares do not only contain information virtually the person sharing simply information virtually others every bit well. Many times, these details are shared on several social media platforms as individuals attempt to ensure that all persons within their social circumvolve are kept updated on their activities. With this openness of sharing risks and challenges arise that are often not considered but can have serious impacts. The speed and scale with which social media creates data and makes information technology available—nigh instantaneously—on a global scale, added to the fact that once something is posted there is really no mode of truly removing it, should prompt individuals to retrieve of the possible impact a post can have. Unfortunately, generally, posts are made without any idea of the far-reaching impact they can accept on the lives of the person posting or others that may exist implicated by the postal service.

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6. Why do people share?

According to Berger and Milkman [25] there are v (v) main reasons why users are compelled to share content online, whether it is every detail or what they deem as highlights of their lives. These are:

• cause related

• personal connectedness to content

• to experience more involved in the world

• to define who they are

• to inform and entertain

People generally share because they believe that what they are sharing is important. It is hoped that the shared content will be deemed important to others which will ultimately result in more than shares, likes and followers.

Figure 1 below sums upward the findings of Berger and Milkman [25] which shows that the main reason people experience the need to share content on the varying social media platform is that the content relates to what is deemed as worthy cause. 84% of respondents highlighted this every bit the primary motivation for sharing. Lxx-8 per centum said that they share considering they experience a personal connectedness to the content while 69 and 68%, respectively said the content either made them feel more than involved with the globe or helped them to define who they were. Forty-ix per centum share because of the entertainment or information value of the content. A more in depth expect at each reason for sharing follows.

Figure 1.

Why people share source: Global Social Media Research. thesocialmediahat.com [26].

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vii. Content related to a crusade

Social media has provided a platform for people to share their thoughts and express concerns with others for what they regard every bit a worthy cause. Crusade related posts are dependent on the interest of the individual. Some persons might share posts related to causes and issues happening in order. In one example, the parents of a baby with an aggressive grade of leukemia, who having been told that their child had but 3 months to live unless a suitable donor for a blood stem jail cell transplant could exist found, made an appeal on social media. The entreatment was chop-chop shared and a suitable donor was soon institute. While that was for a good cause, many view social media merely as platforms for freedom of voice communication because anyone tin postal service whatever content one creates. People think the expression of their thoughts on social media regarding whatsoever topic is permissible. The problem with this is that the content may not be accepted by law or it could violate the rights of someone thus giving rise to ethical questions.

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eight. Content with a personal connection

When social media users feel a personal connectedness to their content, they are more inclined to share the content within their social circles. This is true of data regarding family and personal activities. Content created by users besides invokes a deep feeling of connexion as information technology allows the users to tell their stories and it is natural to desire the earth or at least friends to know of the achievement. This natural need to share content is not new equally humans take been doing this in some form or the other, starting with oral history to the media of the solar day; social media. Sharing the self-created content gives the user the opportunity of satisfying some fundamental needs of humans to be heard, to thing, to be understood and emancipated. The problem with this even so is that in an endeavour to gratify the central needs, borders are crossed considering the content may not be sharable (can this content be shared within the share network?), it may not be share-worthy (who is the audience that would appreciate this content?) or it may be out of context (does the content fit the situation?).

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9. Content that makes them feel more involved in the world

One of the driving factors that pushes users to share content is the need to feel more in tune with the globe around them. This desire is many times fueled by jealousy. Many social media users are jealous when their friends' content gets more attention than their own and so there is a lot of pressure to maintain one'due south persona in social circles, fifty-fifty when the information is unrealistic, every bit long as it gets equally much attention as possible. Everything has to be perfect. In the case of a photo, for example, there is lighting, camera angle and background to consider. This need for perfection puts a tremendous amount of pressure on individuals to ensure that posted content is "liked" by friends. They oftentimes requite very little thought to the amount of their friend'due south work that may have gone on backside the scenes to achieve that perfect social mail service.

Social media platforms have provided everyone with a forum to express views, just, every bit a whole, conversations are more than polarized, tribal and hostile. With Facebook for example, there has been a huge uptick in fake news, contradistinct images, unsafe wellness claims and cures, and the proliferation of anti-science information. This is very lamentable and disturbing considering people are too willing to share and to believe without doing their due diligence and fact-checking first.

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10. Content that defines who they are

Establishing ane's individuality in society can be challenging for some persons because not everyone wants to fit in. Some individuals will do all they can to stand up out and be noticed. Social media provides the avenue for exposure and many individuals will seek to leverage the media to stand out of the crowd and not but be a fish in the school. Today many young people are currently being brought up in a civilization that defines people by their presence on social media where in previous generations, persons were taught to ascertain themselves by their career choices. These lessons would starting time from childhood by asking children what they wanted to exist when they grew upward and then rewarding them based on the answers they give [27]. In today's digital era, however, social media postings and the number of "likes" or "dislikes" they attract, bespeak what is appealing to others. Therefore, post that are similar to those that receive a large number of likes but which are largely unrealistic are usually made for self-gratification.

11. Content that informs and entertains

The acquisition of cognition and skills is a vital office of human survival and social media has fabricated this procedure much easier. It is not uncommon to hear persons realizing that they demand a detail cognition set that they do not possess say "I need to lean to do this. I'll just YouTube it." Learning and adapting to alter in as brusque as possible time is vital in today'south guild and social media coupled with the Net put it all at the finger tips. Amusement has the ability to bring people together and is a adept way for people to bond. It provides a diversion from the demands of life and fills leisure time with amusement. Social media is an outlet for fun, pleasurable and enjoyable activities that are and then vital to human survival [28]. It is now mutual identify to run into persons watching a video, viewing images and reading text that is amusing on any of the available social media platforms. Quite frequently these videos, images and texts tin can be both informative and entertaining, but there can be problems however as at times they tin can cross upstanding lines that can lead to conflict.

12. Ethical challenges with social media use

The use of modern-24-hour interval engineering science has brought several benefits. Social media is no different and chief among its benefit is the ability to stay connected hands and quickly as well as build relationships with people with similar interests. As with all applied science, at that place are several challenges that can make the use of social media off putting and unpleasant. Some of these challenges announced to exist small-scale merely they can take far reaching furnishings into the lives of the users of social media and it is therefore advised that care be taken to minimize the challenges associated with the employ of social media [29].

A major challenge with the use of social media is oversharing because when persons share on social media, they tend to share as much every bit is possible which is oft times too much [24]. When persons are out and about doing exciting things, it is natural to desire to share this with the earth every bit many users will post a few times a mean solar day when they head to dejeuner, visit a museum, go out to dinner or other places of interest [thirty]. While this all seems relatively harmless, by using location-based services which pinpoint users with surprising accuracy and in existent time, users place themselves in danger of laying out a pattern of movement that can be hands traced. While this seems more similar a security or privacy result it stems from an ethical dilemma—"Am I sharing also much?" Oversharing can also lead to damage of user's reputation specially if the intent is to leverage the platform for business [24]. Photos of drunken behavior, drug employ, partying or other inappropriate content can change how you are viewed by others.

Another ethical challenge users of social media often encounter is that they have no fashion of authenticating content before sharing, which becomes problematic when the content paints people or establishments negatively. Often times content is shared with them by friends, family and colleagues. The unauthenticated content is then reshared without any thought but sometimes this content may have been maliciously altered so the user unknowingly participates in maligning others. Even if the content is not altered the fact that the content paints someone or something in a bad lite should send off alert bells as to whether or not information technology is right to share the content which is the underlying principle of ethical behavior.

xiii. Conflicting views

Some of the challenges experienced by social media posts are a result of a lack of understanding and sometimes a lack of respect for the varying ethical and moral standpoints of the people involved. Nosotros have established that it is typical for persons to post to social media sites without any thought equally to how information technology tin touch other persons, merely many times these posts are a cause of conflict because of a difference of opinion that may exist and the upshot the post may have. Each individual will have his or her own ethical values and if they differ then this can result in conflict [31]. When an executive of a British company made an Instagram post with some racial connotations earlier boarding a plane to South Africa information technology started a frenzy that resulted in the executive'due south firsthand dismissal. Although the executive said information technology was a joke and there was no prejudice intended, this difference in views every bit to the implications of the post, resulted in an out of work executive and a company scrambling to maintain its public image.

xiv. Impact on personal evolution

In this age of sharing, many young persons spend a vast corporeality of time on social media checking the activities of their "friends" as well every bit posting on their ain activities so their "friends" are aware of what they are up to. Autonomously from interfering with their academic progress, time spent on these posts at can accept long term repercussions. An instance is provided past a student of a prominent university who posted pictures of herself having a practiced time at parties while in schoolhouse. She was denied employment considering of some of her social media posts. While the ethical challenge here is the question of the employee's right to privacy and whether the individual'due south social media profile should touch on their power to fulfill their responsibilities as an employee, the touch on the individual'southward long term personal growth is clear.

fifteen. Conclusion

In today's information historic period, one's digital footprint can make or suspension someone; information technology can be the deciding factor on whether or non one achieves i's life-long ambitions. Unethical behavior and interactions on social media can have far reaching implications both professionally and socially. Posting on the Internet means the "end of forgetting," therefore, responsible use of this medium is critical. The unethical use of social media has implications for privacy and tin result in security breaches both physically and near. The utilize of social media can also result in the loss of privacy equally many users are required to provide information that they would not divulge otherwise. Social media use can reveal information that tin can event in privacy breaches if not managed properly by users. Therefore, educating users of the risks and dangers of the exposure of sensitive information in this space, and encouraging vigilance in the protection of individual privacy on these platforms is paramount. This could result in the reduction of unethical and irresponsible use of these media and facilitate a more than secure social surroundings. The use of social media should be governed by moral and ethical principles that can exist applied universally and upshot in harmonious relationships regardless of race, culture, religious persuasion and social status.

Assay of the literature and the findings of this research advise achieving acceptable levels of privacy is very difficult in a networked system and volition require much effort on the part of individuals. The largest user groups of social media are unaware of the processes that are required to reduce the level of vulnerability of their personal data. Therefore, educating users of the risk of participating in social media is the social responsibility of these social network platforms. Adapting universally ethical behaviors can mitigate the rise in the number of privacy breaches in the social networking infinite. This recommendation coincides with philosopher Immanuel Kant'due south assertion that, the Biblical principle which states "Practise unto others as you have them practice unto you" can be applied universally and should guide homo interactions [five]. This principle, if adhered to by users of social media and owners of these platforms could heighten the awareness of unsuspecting users, reduce unethical interactions and undesirable incidents that could negatively bear upon privacy, and past extension security in this domain.

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Written By

Nadine Barrett-Maitland and Jenice Lynch

Submitted: September 11th, 2019 Reviewed: Dec 19th, 2019 Published: February 5th, 2020

© 2020 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed nether the terms of the Artistic Eatables Attribution 3.0 License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original piece of work is properly cited.

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Source: https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/70973

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