Social Media, Ethics and the Privacy Paradox

Abstract

Today's information/digital age offers widespread use of social media. The use of social media is ubiquitous and cuts across all age groups, social classes and cultures. However, the increased use of these media is accompanied by privacy issues and ethical concerns. These privacy issues can have far-reaching professional, personal and security implications. Ultimate privacy in the social media domain is very difficult because these media are designed for sharing information. Participating in social media requires persons to ignore some personal, privacy constraints resulting in some vulnerability. The weak individual privacy safeguards in this space have resulted in unethical and undesirable behaviors resulting in privacy and security breaches, especially for the most vulnerable group of users. An exploratory study was conducted to examine social media usage and the implications for personal privacy. We investigated how some of the requirements for participating in social media and how unethical use of social media can impact users' privacy. Results indicate that if users of these networks pay attention to privacy settings and the type of information shared and adhere to universal, fundamental, moral values such as mutual respect and kindness, many privacy and unethical issues can be avoided.

Ethical Implications and Challenges in using Social Media: A Comprehensive Study

“…Privacy is defined as to be free from intrusion, to be free from secret surveillance, or unwanted disclosure of personal data or information by government, organizations, or individual [9]. To protect our privacy, we have to understand first what type of information can be collected and what the risks is and problems may rise when using this data.…”

“…Most people have their own ethics and morals and they have their own beliefs as to what is right and what is wrong. However, the ethical concerns of using social media is increased [9]. In this study, section 2 investigates the unethical practices on social media platforms and how they affects individual physical and mental wellbeing.…”

Dealmaking Disrupted: The Unexplored Power of Social Media in Negotiation

“…Negotiation in the pre‐Internet era posed knotty ethical challenges associated with common tactics such as lying, manipulative persuasion, coercion moves, and the like (e.g., Lax and Sebenius 1986; Menkel‐Meadow and Wheeler 2004). Such challenges only increase with digital options such that no discussion of social media and negotiation should occur without addressing ethical and privacy concerns (see, e.g., Barrett‐Maitland and Lynch 2019 or Ess 2020). When it comes to the ethical boundaries that should be observed in this domain, it is helpful to keep in mind the distinction between negotiation‐related actions that are best avoided simply because they may backfire or cause reputational damage, and those that are intrinsically wrong and should not be undertaken even with little or no risk of adverse consequences or of “getting caught.”…”

Further Developing the Judicial System Utilizing Cloud, VOIP, and Videoconferencing

“…In essence, if such inexperienced users learn of complaints regarding fraudulent activities over the internet, they tend to avoid (and lose trust to some extent) information systems, such as e-government. The lack of confidence in information systems may further attribute to the concept of cybersecurity as most internet users in the general population lack essential skills to protect their online presence and user privacy (Trepte et al, 2015;Barrett-Maitland and Lynch, 2020). Essentially, the limiting factor of internet privacy protection literacy amongst most citizens is still a significant concern that stands on the way of successful implementation of judicial information systems.…”