Is social media a social spirited platform?
How social media change the way of our life? before we know social media such as Twitter and Facebook, there are conventional newspapers and magazines that make us keep up to date with the trend. Before we know electronic mail and a messaging app such as Whatsapp and Telegram, we need to send letters to communicate and more from the internet that has changed the way we live. But what makes social media embedded in our life? It’s because of the content or satisfaction of its consumers and user. It’s reducing the cost of doing business, it’s reducing the cost to get information, etc. Internet and social media is a social-spirited platform: it’s a public area where people can access information, expressing their opinion, and engaging people to participate actively in public converse. They help us as if there’s no return for it, there’s no cost or in another way, we could say social media is a free (no cost) platform.
Let say it’s a free platform, but why Facebook got fined $US 5 Million dollars by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019. Facebook has violated its user privacy in The Cambridge Analytica scandal in early 2018 (IANS, “For Facebook, you’re just a commodity in high-stake data trade.” October 2019). In this case, the users’ identity has been traded in high-stake data trade. Those data obtained in an automatic recording system worked by algorithms that recording the behaviour of its users unconsciously while they are surfing on the internet or social media. The users’ behaviour data being traded to the advertiser and then we can see it in our spam box, in our timeline and the worst is social media, e-commerce, and search engine exclusively directing and modifying our mindset and actions according to their systems. It is exclusive because their digital ads has penetrated personal space without a third party that can intervene in its appropriateness and propriety. The example, someday you are not in purpose surfing in the internet searching for flight tickets or something you craving for. The systems on the internet with its algorithms will record your behaviour and in the next days even in a few weeks later you will see ads in your timeline, in your spam box, youtube, and other social media platform automatically. So what does it means? It means your data are being traded unconsciously without your permission to the advertiser. Is it a good or bad thing for us? If privacy is not your problem, maybe that’s a good thing. Whereby for the people who have trouble with instalments or people with unstable situations. So is it social media and internet is really free? If you look up to the Cambridge Analytica Scandal in 2018, social media and internet is not a free platform. The cost of surfing on the internet is the data that you shared with the platform. Example if you are using Facebook it means you agree to give your data to Facebook. But where they put the price tag on? They put the cost that we must pay for using the platform on the terms and condition when we decide to join the platform for the first time. Some of us may be read all the terms and conditions from the platform, but most of all are pretending to understand the terms and conditions that have been made by the platform. Actually, the terms and condition we ignore is a matter of understanding to using the platform. We can define that is the cost of using the platform.
In this case, I underlined that social media is not fully social-spirited platform for us. Because those technology giants such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Youtube, etc. are the duality between social institutions (which give the users the ease for communicating and sharing information) and business institutions (which they need to gain profits and remain their existence). Looking at the political-economy view, there’s no different one and to another. Both of them are social entities whose facilitate useful information among the people. Also, they are business entities which must be addressed sharply in the perspective of public interest and consumers security (Sudibyo, Agus. Jagat Digital Pembebasan dan Penguasaan. 2019). Last but not least, I just want to persuade others to concern about our privacy security. Do not let them look down on our privacy and make it as their commodity which can be traded. Use social media wisely and you need to know that you have rights from that.
