Dangers of social media

Digital filters perpetuate echo-chambers resulting in myopic views

Artificial intelligence algorithms perpetually feed users content based on what they have previously viewed resulting in echo/chambers of opinion and perspective and potentially encouraging dangerous and antisocial mindsets and behaviour as in the case of the Brenton Tarrant shootings in Christchurch, New Zealand in March 2019.

New media does not make us more superficial than before, but rather empowering us to be more human

Detractors of the stand that new media has made us more superficial than before claim that new media now grants us unprecedented accessibility to the perspectives of others. In the past, we were more likely to only understand what our experiences were like, with little or no concern given to people from other races, religions, sexualities or countries. Today, anyone can share their experiences on social media, and through this, we gain a deeper empathy for others, as we can better understand their plights. In addition, people have used social media as an avenue to spread awareness of injustices occurring in the world today: the hashtag movement #MeToo was started by women who were powerless against the sexual advances of Hollywood figure Harvey Weinstein . This movement allows women to share their stories of how they had been abused but were unable to speak up for themselves. In fact, TIME magazine even named '#MeToo" as its 20 17 "Person of the Year", testament to its power. Such movements allow people around the world to understand the problems and injustices others go through, which was only possible through the use of new media. Thus, far from making us more superficial, new media has instead made us more human.

New media & data breach - Data Mining without user's knowledge

Everyone leaves a data trail behind on the internet. Every time someone creates a new social media account, they provide personal information that can include their name, birthdate, geographic location, and personal interests. In addition, companies collect data on user behaviors: when, where, and how users interact with their platform. All of this data is stored and leveraged by companies to better target advertising to their users. Sometimes, companies share users' data with third-party entities, often without users' knowledge or consent.

Cambridge Analytica and Facebook

Facebook exposed data of up to 87 million Facebook users to a researcher who worked at Cambridge Analytica, which worked for the Trump campaign. But this highlights a larger debate over how much users can trust Facebook with their data. Facebook allowed a third-party developer to engineer an application for the sole purpose of gathering data. And the developer was able to exploit a loophole to gather information on not only people who used the app but all their friends — without them knowing.

Concept of 'likes' on social media has made us even more focused on appearance than before

Finally, the concept of 'likes' on social media has made us even more focused on appearance than before. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all have a system where users can react to the posts of other users, either through 'liking' it or by posting an emoji. However, this system subconsciously adjusts our priorities to that of acquiring likes, as studies have shown that seeing our posts being liked releases endorphins in our body, which are hormones that provide the feeling of happiness. This is embodied in two phenomena: the first of which being the practice of taking selfies which put one's life at risk : in order to get more likes on their posts, people actively seek out ways to make their photos even more stunning, which results in some very dangerous activities at natural areas. Just a few days ago, a teen fell to his death while trying to take a selfie at Yosemite National Park. The second is the concept of body image: studies have shown that most social media sites had a negative effect on body image, with the exception of Youtube. This means that browsing these sites is likely to cause someone to become insecure about how his or her body looks. In fact, a study conducted amongst Australian women aged 18-24 showed that it only took half an hour of browsing Instagram to elicit this effect . Even though traditional media has had some effect on body image, through magazines or television shows, the sheer accessibility of new media today renders us even more vulnerable to such insecurities, making us focus on appearances, thus neglecting the human connection, and in that sense, become more superficial.

New media & data breach - Malware

Malware (malicious software) is designed to gain access to computers and the data they contain. Once malware has infiltrated a user's computer, it can be used to steal sensitive information (spyware), extort money (ransomware), or profit from forced advertising (adware). Social media platforms are an ideal delivery system for malware distributors. Once an account has been compromised (often by obtaining passwords through a phishing attack), cybercriminals can take over that account to distribute malware to all of the user's friends or contacts.

New media can make us more superficial as it has an echo chamber effect due to the use of algorithm

Next, the fundamental way in which new media works can manipulate us and render us unable to see the perspectives mentioned in the first point. Sites like Facebook use an algorithm to filter what we see in our feeds based on the content we usually view, in order to elicit more clicks from users. For instance, if we are particularly interested in the actions of American president Donald Trump, our feed will also start showing more snippets of news about him. However, this algorithm is in fact very detrimental to our ability to see the world from the perspectives of others. A widely-shared Wall Street Journal graphic illustrates this point: titled "Red feed Blue feed", this graphic offers a side-by- side comparison of the Facebook feeds of a liberal and a conservative, which are, as it turns out, vastly different. As a result, this algorithm turns new media into an echo chamber of sorts: a person with certain beliefs and political leanings will only 'hear' the 'voices' of people who agree with him. In this case, liberals and conservatives were unlikely to see the perspectives of the opposing party, thus rendering them unable to weigh all the information to draw a rational conclusion. In another instance, it was found that Facebook, the main social media site used in Myanmar, exacerbated the hate against the Rohingya as it served as a platform to propagate hate speech. While traditional media such as newspapers do at times have their political leanings, these biases are usually circumvented by the spirit of journalism to report objective news. Contrary to what the first point argues, new media can thus be seen as a blindfold: a piece of cloth that covers one's eyes to the existence of other beliefs, making us even more superficial than before as it creates a lack of understanding of other people.

New media & data breach - Phishing

Phishing is one of the most common ways criminals attempt to gain access to sensitive personal information. Often in the form of an email, a text message, or a phone call, a phishing attack presents itself as a message from a legitimate organization. These messages trick people into sharing sensitive data, including passwords, banking information, or credit card details. Phishing attacks often pose as social media platforms. In August 2019, a massive phishing campaign targeted Instagram users by posing as a two-factor authentication system, prompting users to log in to a false Instagram page.

New media & data breach - Botnet attacks

Social media bots are automated accounts that create posts or automatically follow new people whenever a certain term is mentioned. A large group of bots can form a network known as a botnet. Bots and botnets are prevalent on social media and are used to steal data, send spam, and launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that help cybercriminals gain access to people's devices and networks.

Threats to data privacy

Social media users' concerns about their privacy have spiked in recent years. Incidents of data breaches have alarmed many users and forced them to rethink their relationships to social media and the security of their personal information. Criminals are adept at tricking social media users into handing over sensitive information, stealing personal data, and gaining access to accounts users consider private. Following are typical social media threats.