Ethical Issues in Social Media and Privacy: Assignment 3 Analysis

This essay delves into the ethical complexities of social media and privacy, examining the rise of ethical dilemmas in the digital age. It explores the application of ethical theories, including utilitarianism, deontology, virtue theory, and contract theory, to address issues such as cyberbullying, online threats, and the responsibility of social networking sites. The essay highlights the importance of maintaining user privacy, promoting ethical online behavior, and understanding the implications of sharing personal data. It also discusses the role of authenticity, honesty, and the need for a balance between technological advancement and societal well-being in the context of social media. The analysis emphasizes the need for ethical guidelines and awareness to ensure responsible use of social media platforms.

Running Head: Social Media And Privacy
Issues
Ethical Issues in Social Media and Privacy Issues
Assignment 3: Applying Ethical Theory
Name:
Number:
Name

Social Media And Privacy Issues 2
Introduction
In the current Scenario, new media and technologies for social networking are hitting the tip
point for rising of the ethical issues in social media. These situations are rising on the basis of
the user’s moral values and the essential responsibility of the social networking sites and its
administrations. It is essential to make the analysis regarding to the ethical issue being arise
on the social networking sites. It has become a vital role to maintain the privacy and from the
user point of view is to maintain the rules and responsibility so as to maintain the internet
user personal data (Arasa, 2017). It is to be demonstrated that the trust is to be maintained
between the online anonyms and the duty regarding the respect of the behaviour between two
human beings. It has become essential to make over the societal, political and informational
practices of beings and societies globally in response with the community ethics and its
technology.
1. Utilitarianism Theory-
It is an idea where actions are performed on the basis of factual or erroneous depending
on the effect been made. It is one of the most influential theories in terms of moral for a
human being. There are basically 2 types of Utilitarianism i.e. act and rule. Act is
considered to be the ethically right if and only they produce at minimum so that the act
can be perform on time. Rule Utilitarianism is the theory if the action is performed on
correct manner. With the effects of social media, these outlets generally allow a user to
post anything that user wants to show publically whether it can be used in a positive or
negative manner. Generally a post which is regarding to the political views or any
religious beliefs sometimes face a problem of scrutiny and possibly start virtual threats
because of the activity conducted against them. And the most common things are today’s
scenario is the cyber bullying or cyber-attacks that can cause a big effects on social
media. In the Utilitarianism theory, critical or undesirable posts should not be posted
under any situations (Blank et al., 2014).
2. Deontology Theory-
Deontology also refers to duty based ethical theory which addresses to one’s
responsibility according to some rules and regulations. Technology has developed a new
environment globally. Communicating, indulging and interacting with any social media
Name

Social Media And Privacy Issues 3
near or far. It is generally a set of ethical codes which order to do something in a correct
form and secondly it is not the action which is to be done but the work with the good
intension should be the great value. This theory generally focuses on the good intensions
and the outcomes should be appropriate towards an act or action performed (Bryer et al.,
2011). Generally if we talk about the social networking sites, Facebook holds a big
responsibility on social network globally. It is the way to access for the startup in e-
commerce on social network which is used for the people who share their skills and
experiences and also helps in posting to the new advertisements and job opportunities.
Authenticity is required for all the users to take the advantage for the user accessibility
over the net for in a positive manner. There is another way of Absolutism in deontological
theory i.e. the action performed in a right or wrong manner irrespective to its intension. If
we take a big platform i.e. Facebook, generally there are many users who create their fake
profiles with wrong intensions are breaching ones trust. There are many other platforms
like LinkedIn which is been created for the professional people, their also forbid activities
happen where a person create a fake profile and not providing the accurate information of
their skills and experience, it will not only make him feel shameful but also not permit
him for qualifying into any job field (Dahl, 2014).
3. Virtue Theory-
This theory basically emphasise on the virtues evolved in the context of face to face
communication. This theory basically emphasize on the virtues of mind and character.
Virtue Ethics in terms of professionalism discuss about the nature and the character of
virtues and other related problems. It mainly examines on how the virtues are been
applied in real life. It is the continuing idea with a prehistoric root. There are people
emerging with the social networking that includes the numerous benefits of increasing the
challenge of ethical issues. In this theory it basically argues in the favour of more
pervasive and the organized applications based on the normative structure on the principle
impact of information technologies or social networking sites (Lipschultz, 2017). It
generally identifies the several distinctive features of virtue ethics that basically involves
the privacy issues towards the social media and networking sites. Virtue based perception
is a much needed for a strong research practices of existing practical studies on the social
and appropriate impact in IT. It can be formulated into simple terms that are engaging to
the most of the social networking sites. It is an independent to the belief of the systems to
accept it and is been incorporated into codes of conduct for social media and privacy
Name

Social Media And Privacy Issues 4
issues and its virtues typically enhanced in communicative observes: persistence,
righteousness and identification (Lunnay et al., 2015).
4. Contract Theory-
This theory typically derives on how the economic performers can do and create the
contractual arrangements which are been presentable in the form of the asymmetric
information. In this theory the ethical issues being described on the basis of the
communication between the private users and the social media. The term social
conventions classically describe a expansive class of ethical theories that subjects in
detailing the implicit agreements by which people from globally maintain a social order.
This indicates that the government holds the responsibility of ordering into social media.
It basically describes the starting point for the most human condition absent from any
social order (Obar & Wildman, 2015). It basically attempt to explain in different ways
that includes self-interest that is clearly acceptable to participate into both the implicit and
the explicit manner. To access over the social networking sites and involving the user to
accept terms and policies sometimes they are been restricted from the freedom of action
and explicit sets of constructs (Rauniar et al., 2014).
Conclusion
The Ethical issues in Social Media and privacy issues have become an essential element
and support for the today’s scenario in the modernism and lifestyles. Even it is rapidly
increasing the growth of social media sites and is respectively amazing for the users. It is
essential to maintain the balance between the advancement and control towards the
ethical society. A proper plan is need to update and have the control towards the latest
information technology in order to successfully implement and practice the ethical issues
being faced within the communities (Sun et al., 2015). It is been suggested that the social
media ethics should be properly written under the guidance and keeping in mind the
benefits of it so that the awareness should create within the societies. The users who
generally keep on accessing towards the social networking sites should promote and
follow the ethics towards media and should exercise to be affiliated to earn the benefits or
services to attract the people towards it. While implementing and creating the awareness
in the society a code of honesty requires a person to be true while representing oneself
skills, education and its experience for offering of goods and services to the people. For
this social network and privacy issues need amenableness and the honesty ensures that a
Name

Social Media And Privacy Issues 5
person is genuine and working with the good intensions while registering into any such
social broadcasting which ought to be done in an authentic way (Zavattaro et al., 2014)
References
Arasa, D. (2017). Freedom and responsibility in the use of Internet: a handbook for
democratic societies–Confronting the Internet? dark side: moral and social
responsibility on the free highway
Blank, G., Bolsover, G., & Dubois, E. (2014). A new privacy paradox: Young people and
privacy on social network sites.
Bryer, T. A., & Zavattaro, S. M. (2011). Social media and public administration: Theoretical
dimensions and introduction to the symposium. Administrative Theory &
Praxis, 33(3), 325-340.
Dahl, S. (2014). Social media marketing: Theories and applications. Sage.
Lipschultz, J. H. (2017). Social media communication: Concepts, practices, data, law and
ethics. Taylor & Francis.
Lunnay, B., Borlagdan, J., McNaughton, D., & Ward, P. (2015). Ethical use of social media
to facilitate qualitative research. Qualitative health research, 25(1), 99-109.
Obar, J. A., & Wildman, S. S. (2015). Social media definition and the governance challenge:
An introduction to the special issue.
Rauniar, R., Rawski, G., Yang, J., & Johnson, B. (2014). Technology acceptance model
(TAM) and social media usage: an empirical study on Facebook. Journal of
Enterprise Information Management, 27(1), 6-30.
Sun, Y., Wang, N., Shen, X. L., & Zhang, J. X. (2015). Location information disclosure in
location-based social network services: Privacy calculus, benefit structure, and gender
differences. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 278-292.
Zavattaro, S. M., & Sementelli, A. J. (2014). A critical examination of social media adoption
in government: Introducing omnipresence. Government Information Quarterly, 31(2),
257-264.
Name