Option 2:
Social media is a staple in society today that pretty much everyone uses. Even people who don’t use typical social media, probably use some app that is considered social media. Personally, I signed out of all of my social media accounts in 2015 and have rarely checked them since. When I graduated high school, MySpace had only been out for about a year and I don’t remember even knowing what it was until after I graduated. At the time we posted literally everything that came to mind and photos that would humiliate us now. But then we never considered how much our information would be stored and saved an bought by other companies. Now, we’re all told to be careful what is posted online because it is there forever. I think the social media app that ages a person 10 years is a great example of utilitarianism in that people feel as though they are posting something meaningful and and benefiting from the process of posting. Social media apps are also unique in that the “platforms declare to impose severe sanctions on some behaviors of the user mainly based on the results rather than the intention, which is different from the conventional practice of law or ethics” (Mao & Wang, 2022). I think that a Utilitarian would agree that a person using the app isn’t beneficial from the standpoint that it is encouraging the mind. The person is going to use the app because they want to be part of the society that is posting their own pictures. Regardless of what the owners of the app are using the information for, we live in a time where most people just accept this. The government cannot unreasonably search our homes and seize anything from our homes, but social media has long since, openly be considered public domain. According to our lesson this week, This means that “If social media, internet traffic, communications done via applications, etc. are not defined as a private space, we are not able to guarantee legally that they cannot be accessed without legal authorization from a judge. Also, if something counts as third party property, we have no direct say over it” (Chamberlain, 2023).
Chamberlain College of Nursing (2023). ETHC 445N Principles of Ethics: Week 4: Lesson 1 Ethical Decisions and Ramifications
Mao, W., & Wang, Z. (2022). Ethical framework of social media based on text analysis of terms of service of six major platforms. Journal of Sensors, 2022, 19. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/1136017
