What is ethical social media use?

Summary

Dr. Fiona Martin from the University of Sydney discusses the complexities of ethical social media use, highlighting the numerous actors involved, including users, platform providers, and marketers. She emphasizes the importance of understanding privacy, autonomy, and safety in social media interactions, and the need for users to be aware of how their data is being used and manipulated.

Takeaways

• 🤔 Ethical social media use is complex due to the various actors involved, including users, platform providers, internet service providers, marketing companies, and governments.
• 🔍 Social media research ethics involve treating participants with respect, dignity, justice, and considering their privacy and autonomy.
• 📊 The Facebook contagion study demonstrated that users may not be aware of the extent of social media research and manipulation based on their online behavior.
• 📱 Social media platforms are free because users are the product, providing data that platforms can monetize through advertisements and research.
• 👥 Awareness of being monitored varies among users; some are conscious of data collection, but many engage in social media without considering the research aspect.
• 🔒 Users may not be fully aware of or understand the privacy controls and terms of service that they agree to when using social media platforms.
• 📈 Social media companies benefit from users conducting naturalistic interactions to better understand emotions, activities, and relationships for targeted advertising.
• 🛡️ Ethical social media use also involves considering the safety and privacy of users, including teaching them how to protect their identity and data.
• 🔑 Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) can allow third parties to access and analyze social media data for various purposes, including marketing and surveillance.
• 🏛️ The responsibility for ethical social media practices may fall on the platforms to ensure that their operations are transparent and respectful of user data.
• 🌐 The complexity of the social media environment makes it challenging for everyday users to be fully aware of the implications of their online activities and data sharing.

Q & A

What is the main topic of discussion in the video script?

The main topic of the video script is the ethical considerations of social media use, including data privacy, user awareness, and the responsibilities of various stakeholders involved in social media platforms.

Who is Dr. Fiona Martin and what is her area of expertise?

Dr. Fiona Martin is a leading scholar in the area of connective communication from the University of Sydney, and she discusses issues associated with social media research and ethics.

What are the ethical challenges in social media research according to the script?

The ethical challenges include respecting participants' dignity, justice, privacy, and autonomy, as well as considering the complex network of actors involved, such as platform providers, internet service providers, marketing companies, and governments.

How does the script describe the awareness of social media users regarding their data being monitored or researched?

The script suggests that while some users are aware that platforms like Facebook conduct research on them, many are not conscious of the extent to which their everyday interactions may be monitored or studied.

What is the Facebook contagion study mentioned in the script, and what was its purpose?

The Facebook contagion study was an experiment where Facebook altered users' news feeds to contain more negative or positive content to see if it would influence the users' emotional responses, aiming to understand emotional manipulation on the platform.

What is an API in the context of social media platforms?

An API, or Application Programming Interface, is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. In social media, APIs can feed data to researchers, marketing companies, or anyone interested in studying user data.

How can social media platforms use the data they collect from users?

Social media platforms can use the collected data to better understand user behavior, emotions, and relationships, which can help them improve their services, target ads more effectively, and even conduct research studies.

What is the role of marketing companies in the context of social media ethics discussed in the script?

Marketing companies are interested in intervening in social media interactions to manipulate or understand user behavior, which raises ethical concerns about privacy and consent in the context of social media use.

What is the responsibility of social media producers according to the script?

Social media producers have a responsibility to ensure that their platforms operate ethically, which includes being transparent about data usage, protecting user privacy, and considering the consequences of their actions on users.

Why is it difficult for everyday users to be fully aware of the social media environment's complexity?

The complexity arises from the numerous actors and factors involved, including data sharing, privacy settings, and the potential for unintended surveillance. Users may not have the knowledge or tools to navigate these complexities effectively.

What are some of the safety measures that users should be aware of when using social media?

Users should be aware of and understand the terms and services they agree to, know how to protect their identity, use privacy controls, and be conscious of the potential for unwanted attention or surveillance.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Ethical Considerations in Social Media Research

This paragraph delves into the complexities of ethical social media use, focusing on data privacy and the multifaceted actors involved in social media networks. Dr. Fiona Martin from the University of Sydney discusses the ethical challenges in treating research participants with respect, dignity, justice, and considering their privacy and autonomy. The paragraph highlights the difficulty in generalizing about user awareness of being monitored or researched on platforms, with some being aware of Facebook's research practices, while many remain oblivious to the potential for everyday interactions to be scrutinized. It also touches on the Facebook contagion study, which manipulated users' feeds to study emotional responses, and the ethical implications of such research without explicit consent.

05:02

🛡️ Safeguarding Privacy in the Social Media Landscape

The second paragraph emphasizes the importance of understanding and protecting oneself on social media. It explores the concept of public APIs that allow data access for research and marketing purposes, and the potential for this data to be misused or accessed by entities like governments. The discussion points out the need for users to be aware of the terms of service they agree to and the importance of privacy controls. It stresses the necessity for education on safe social media practices beyond just cyberbullying awareness. The paragraph concludes by suggesting that ethical social media use is not only about personal conduct but also about the broader consequences of communicative activities and the responsibility of social media producers to ensure thoughtfulness in their campaigns.

Keywords

💡Ethical Social Media Use

Ethical social media use refers to the responsible and respectful interaction on social platforms, taking into account privacy, data security, and the impact of content on users. In the video, this concept is central as it discusses the complex nature of social media ethics, including data handling and user awareness of being monitored or researched.

💡Data Privacy

Data privacy is the protection of personal information from unauthorized access or disclosure. The script highlights concerns about how social media platforms store and use user data, emphasizing the need for users to be aware and in control of their data privacy settings.

💡Connective Communication

Connective communication is the exchange of information and ideas facilitated by social media platforms. Dr. Fiona Martin, a scholar in this field, discusses the ethical implications of research conducted through these platforms, including the respect and dignity of participants.

💡Terms of Service

Terms of Service are the legal agreements between a service provider and its users, outlining the rights and responsibilities of each party. The script mentions that users may not be fully aware of the extent to which they are being researched or monitored, as they often accept these terms without fully understanding them.

💡Autonomy

Autonomy in the context of the video refers to the independence and self-governance of research subjects, particularly in how their data and interactions are used in social media research. It is one of the ethical considerations raised by Dr. Martin regarding the treatment of participants.

💡Network of Research Participants

A network of research participants encompasses all the individuals involved in social media interactions, including users, platform providers, internet service providers, and even governments. The script discusses the complexity of ethical considerations when so many different actors have a stake in the data and interactions on social media.

💡Marketing Manipulation

Marketing manipulation refers to the strategies used by marketing companies to influence consumer behavior through social media. The video script mentions how these companies may intervene in social media interactions, raising ethical questions about the authenticity of user experiences and the integrity of the data collected.

💡Surveillance

Surveillance in the script refers to the monitoring of social media interactions by various entities, including marketing and advertising companies, and potentially governments. It raises ethical concerns about privacy invasion and the potential misuse of collected data.

💡Facebook Contagion Study

The Facebook Contagion Study is an example given in the script where emotional manipulation was tested by altering users' news feeds. This study sparked controversy and discussions about user consent and the ethical boundaries of social media research.

💡Application Programming Interface (API)

An API is a set of rules and protocols that allows different software applications to communicate with each other. In the context of the video, APIs are used by social media platforms to share data with researchers, marketers, and potentially governments, which has implications for user privacy and data security.

💡Distributed Responsibility

Distributed responsibility suggests that the ethical use of social media is a shared duty among various stakeholders, including users, platform providers, and regulators. The script argues that while users should be more aware and in control of their data, social media producers also have a role in ensuring ethical practices.

Highlights

Ethical social media use is hard to define due to contentious areas like data privacy and storage.

Social media research involves treating participants with respect, dignity, justice, privacy, and safety.

Ethics in social media is complicated by the many actors involved, including users, platforms, ISPs, marketers, and governments.

People's awareness of being monitored or researched on social media varies, with some being very aware and others not.

Social media companies benefit from users being unaware of constant monitoring to better understand emotions and behaviors.

The Facebook contagion study showed people respond to emotional manipulation in their news feeds.

Major social media platforms have public APIs that allow data access for research and marketing purposes.

Data from social media can be used to target ads and may also be requested by governments for surveillance.

People need to be educated on how to protect their privacy and identity on social media.

Ethical social media involves considering the consequences of communicative activities and data sharing.

Users should take more control over the data they share and be aware of where it may end up.

The responsibility for ethical social media also lies with producers to ensure campaigns are thoughtful and respectful.

Social media platforms have an interesting relationship with users, providing services in exchange for user data.

Awareness of social media research is low among everyday users who engage in normal interactions.

The complexity of the social media environment makes it difficult for users to be fully aware of the implications.

Ethical considerations in social media should extend beyond just the platform to include all networked relationships.

Transcripts

[Music]

so what is ethical social media use it's

quite hard to define until we understand

some of the more contentious areas of

social media for example what happens to

our data why are social media platforms

free how is our data being stored I

spoke with one of our leading scholars

in this area of connective communication

dr. Fiona Martin from the University of

Sydney to find out more some of the

issues that are associated with social

media research are exactly the same as

your classical research problems that is

we have to consider how we treat our

participants with respect and with

dignity and with justice and we also

have to consider their privacy and I

suppose their autonomy as research

subjects and their safety but I think

the difficulty with social media ethics

is that there are so many actors

involved in the network of research

participants so it's not just the users

of the social media platform it's also

the platform providers and the internet

service providers it might be the users

friends it might be incidental people

who happen to join a discussion on a

particular topic and then you've got any

marketing companies who are trying to

manipulate the way in which that

interaction takes place or at least

intervene in some way you've also got

the people who are surveilling those

interactions and that might be not only

marketing and advertising companies but

also for example governments so there

are a whole lot of different factors

networked relationships and also the

ways in which we're kind of trying to

intervene in social media environments

that might impact the ethics of

situation I think it's that complexity

that is really what we need to think

about it's hard to make a generalization

about whether people who use social

media are aware that they might be being

monitored or that there

these might be being researched I think

some people are very aware and certainly

the studies that have been done of

people's attitudes to terms and services

on Facebook for example suggest that

some people are really aware that

Facebook does research on them and that

it allows third parties like marketing

companies to do conduct research or at

least to look at the data that people

are creating in their social media

interactions but day to day when we're

just talking with our friends do we

actually know or think about the fact

that we might be researched I don't

think so I think a lot of people engage

with everyday chat with their friends

and their family and don't think for a

moment that their messages or the sorts

of activities are engaged in might be

put under the microscope it's not in the

interests of social media companies to

make us aware that we're always being

monitored right they are interested in

us going about our everyday interactions

in a normal naturalistic way because

they want to know what triggers our

emotions our activities our

relationships and they don't want us to

be constantly aware that what we do is

being researched and it's kind of it's a

bit naive in a way but because the

social media platforms had set up this

interesting relationship with us it's a

contribute really they provide us

publications in efforts that and the

software that enables us to maintain our

social relations and we are the product

we give them data I think the classic

example of people not being aware of

social media research is the Facebook

contagion study where Facebook tried to

see whether people would respond to

emotional manipulation

so they change the content of people

feeds to be more negative to contain

more negative post more negative news

feed material and so on to see whether

people responded and surprise surprise

they responded in kind they've responded

more negatively to negative material if

you like and more positively to positive

material now they published this study

just as they do with all of their

studies quite openly and didn't think

that this was a major problem because

they had internalized the contractual

terms of the Facebook Terms of Service

you're trying as you use it a think

through how someone might study you on

say Instagram just think about whether

first of all whether the service has

what we call a public API and

application programming interface and

that means that it can feed data that

interface can feed data to researchers

research companies marketing companies

anyone who wants to study that data so

most of the major social media platforms

had something like an application

programming interface and API they may

not make that material publicly

available then again they may they may

give it to developers say so that they

can make apps

but then offer you services for which

you're going to pay they make it

available to market search companies so

that they can better target ads you and

your tastes and what you talk about

everyday they might give it to

governments who request information

about different types of groups for

example if you are a member of a

fundamentalist Islamic group that

talks about the is Islamic state and

this is really interesting because if so

is studying Islamic state supporters on

Instagram or Facebook

they can also be studying everyone who

associates with those people and that

could sweep up your friends or your

family

accidentally is it safe to you social

media it's about a safe other parts of

everyday life the interesting thing is

whether people know how to protect

themselves when they're using social

media so whether they understand the

terms and services that they're actually

signing up for whether they know how to

protect their identity whether they know

how to keep themselves safe from

unwanted attention so are there privacy

controls that they can use that's all

the sort of stuff that I think we really

should be teaching people more so less

about cyberbullying and more about how

to keep yourself safe in these really

quite exciting but potentially difficult

social environment so ethical social

media is not only about what we do on

social media and what others do with our

data it's also about the consequences

that are associated with this

communicative activity and more to the

point there may be a distributed

responsibility that within the current

social media environment suggests we

need to take more control over what data

we share and where that data might end

up but in having said all that it's

difficult for everyday users to be aware

of the complexity of the social media

environment and it's something not all

users are or can be

so I'd argue that the responsibility of

ethical social media rests with the

social media producer to some extent to

ensure that any sort of campaign they

may operationalize contains an element

of thoughtfulness in the sorts of

associated activity

of social media

[Music]

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