speech theories & social media

 There are 8 values of free expression:

1. Marketplace of Ideas

2. Participation in Self Government

3. Stable Change

4. Individual Self-Fulfillment

5. Check on Government Power

6. Promote Tolerance

7. Promote Innovation

8. Protect Dissent

In todays blog I am going to be discussing how Individual Self-Fulfillment connects to the idea of social media and how this theory can help explain why we post certain things, comment certain things, repost certain things, etc.

Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, VSCO, ect. is a place for people to express themselves and post all sorts of things. This could mean posting food recipes, beach pictures, sponsorships, makeup tutorials, videos, and so much more. This gives us the opportunity to create our own identity and express our opinions about different things. You are able to connect with individuals who share common interests with you while even learning new things along the way. However, with this being said, social media is also linked with greater levels of isolation, stress, depression, egoism, and a lacking of social skills. Normally what is shared on social media is the positive attributes in your life not the negative. A lot of the times, people will start to compare themselves to other people they are seeing online which can led to negative effects. They might think they are not good enough, not pretty enough, not popular enough, etc. 

Going on more of a different topic, a very relevant thing in the world today is the black lives matter movement. Their has been protests in every state with thousands of people marching down the street expressing their opinions. Not only has it been shown in this form but also on social media. There have been hundreds of reposts on peoples Instagram stories of different BLM articles, pictures, and so much more. Over the summer there was a day dedicated to blacking out all of social media for BLM. Everyone would post a black screen and write up a brief captions expressing their emotions. People would also post a bunch of different pictures relating to police brutality, George Floyd, and violence. They were taking advantage of their right to free speech and expressing their emotions on the topic. 

Without the right of free expression, who knows what our world would be like today. It is so important that everyone is able to create their own identity and find kindred spirits in the process. We have to let people know what we stand for and what we believe in, because without that our society would be a mess. 

LINK: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/social-medias-impact-on-self-esteem_b_58ade038e4b0d818c4f0a4e4