Responsible Self-Censorship

“With the advent of citizen journalism, the definition of a journalist has potentially broadened to anyone with a laptop and a wireless connection” (Whitehouse, 2010, p. 320).  New technology outlets and digital media offer almost unlimited access to information of any type.  Barring sites that intentionally monitor access to the information they hold by requiring usage fees or verified login data, users may access, manipulate, and share information without discretion.  New technology places the responsibility of censorship on users who were once only recipients of information but have now become journalists themselves.

 

Once information is posted publicly online, it becomes virtually impossible to retract due to the nature of digital media and its tools that allow and encourage users to share information quickly.  While users enjoy the easy access to most information, they must consider the potential fallout and unintended consequences of what they choose to post.  Some information “may have some salience with media consumers, but that salience does not give permission for voyeurism” (Whitehouse, 2010, p. 322).  New technology offers tools to enhance communication.  However, all users—professional and personal—must recognize the responsibility of making ethical choices in the content they produce and distribute by enacting a measure of self-censorship to evaluate choices.  Johnson (1998) discusses users responsibilty to select information that is “useful and appropriate information” (p. 8).  New technology challenges users to decide what is appropriate prior to publish in a digital environment and users must include self-censorship, in the form of ethical decision-making, in the process.

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Sources:

Johnson, D. (1998, April/May). Are you sure you want an Internet filter? Virtual censorship is still censorship. TechTrends, 43(3). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/docview/223129930?pq-origsite=summon

Pictures? Image. (Retrieved 2014). Retrieved from http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DoAQ7RdvUgs/0.jpg

Whitehouse, G. (2010). Newsgathering and privacy: Expanding ethics codes to reflect change in the digital media age. Journal of mass media ethics, 25(4). doi:10.1080/08900523.2010.512827