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Geoffrey Liskoff

Professor Padget

English 102

1/29/17

Inquiry Paper

Does the growing use of social media promote violence or wrong

behavior among people?

Although the exposure teens and many others face when using

social media is not always bad, as it allows everyone to stay up to date

with what is going around in the nation and even the world. Along with

this comes the ability for the users to voice their opinion or beliefs on

any situation. The following examples lead me to wonder if being able

to see and voice opinions instantly on social media promotes violent

behavior and actions among every day people.

Police brutality rights in Charlotte

Inaugurations protests around the US
Baltimore riots over death of Freddie Gray
London Riots in 2011

With the growing usage of smart phones and social media sites and

applications, I wonder if it is affecting the spread of violent protests

and riots. Apps such as twitter, instagram, snapchat, etc are and

have been allowing people from around the nation and even the world

to see news and the opinions of others instantly. We have seen

multiple protests around the world recently whether it is from police

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brutality or the 2016 Presidential election. It can be seen that many

people belief

I personally had friends who took part in the police protests in

Charlotte this past year and I know many of them took to twitter to

spread their opinions on the situation before they participated in

rioting against the police. Although what was said on their twitter

feeds was about situations against the police, which are very popular

among social media, as they gain a lot of publicity and everyone then

has their ability to comment on the situation. Also, with what I have

personally seen, many people begin arguing and threatening each

other when they post or comment on what they believe on social

media sites. Although its completely okay for people to post their

opinions on these applications, many people get upset when things are

said that they dont agree with. What happened in Charlotte, was that

the spread of word, whether it is from social media or television, it

sparked a lot of conflict and rage from some citizens against police

officers. As tensions continued to grow, eventually riots broke out as

these citizens took to the streets.

I also saw a situation similar to this at the recent inauguration of

President Donald Trump, as many people who apposed and voted

against Trump have been very heavily present on social media. This

was seen multiple times through out the election. However, when it

came down to it Donald Trump won, and it inspired many citizens to

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begin protests against him as, Anti-Trump protests also broke out

Friday in US cities, including New York, Seattle, Dallas, Chicago and

Portland, Oregon. Authorities in Seattle say one person was in critical

condition at a hospital with a gunshot wound (The Impact of..).

Although social media did not directly cause this situation, I watched a

lot of friends and others join in on online arguments witch eventually

led to the motion of protests that even got violent at the inauguration.

"Police injured, more than 200 arrested at Trump inauguration

protests." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

It could even be thought that social media may have played a

role in protests as far back as 2011. As we are told by an article in the

Guardian, The summer riots across the UK last year were made

worse by rolling TV news channels and social media such as Twitter

and Facebook, according to independent panel set up by the

government to examine the roots of the unrest. This example from

the London Riots in 2011 shows us that some people believe that

situations can be publicized more after being on a social media

network. The riots were ultimately caused by citizens emphasizing the

shooting of citizen Mark Duggan by police officers. Although many

positive things catch the attention of people on social media such as

memes, many serious issues are debated and argues upon just like
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politics and a number of cases of what people believe is police

brutality.

Halliday, Josh. "UK riots 'made worse' by rolling news, BBM, Twitter and

Facebook." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 28 Mar. 2012.

Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

Many parents are even scared of their children dealing with the

growing social media usage among their children. According to an

article from AAP News and Journals, Pediatricians are in a unique

position to help families understand these sites and to encourage

healthy use and urge parents to monitor for potential problems with

cyber bullying, Facebook depression, sexting, and exposure to

inappropriate content. I have even witnessed some of my friends

parents make their kids delete their social media accounts after they

saw what their children were saying. Some of which ranged from cyber

bullying to threats against other kids and even adults. Many people

use social media as an outlet now a days and even though it is always

accepted to say your opinions or beliefs we have to wonder if social

media ultimately promotes any violence or action from people.

"The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families."

The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families |

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From the American Academy of Pediatrics | Pediatrics. N.p., n.d. Web.

30 Jan. 2017.