Influence of Social Media
Social media is a very big issue within not only the U.S, but the world as a whole. Not only does this affect adults and how they perceive themselves, but it also affects children massively. Children do not have a full understanding as to what a stranger really is. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to find out if someone is who they say they are through social media.
Therefore, there have been many instances where children are taken advantage of, by strangers on the internet claiming to be someone else. Therefore, many parents are absolutely outraged by this, and a Senate hearing took place where all CEOs were present, receiving feedback.
Senate Comes Together
The U.S. Senate has come together to finally address social media as a whole. Many CEOs were present in this formal meeting, listening to many different complaints about social media. Among these CEOs was Mark Zuckerberg, Jason Citron, Shou Chew, and more. There were many different points that were discussed relevant to the issues that many are facing.
Many of these issues are perpetrated against parents of children that are heavily influenced by social media in a negative way. Attorney General of New Mexico, Raul Torrez, explains how “Zuckerberg needs to start acting like a parent. He has kids himself. He needs to start acting like that.”
The Future of Social Media
Social media is obviously headed in a very negative direction, and it seems that CEOs are not necessarily doing anything to resolve that issue. Therefore, parents have come together to show their anger and hatred towards these CEOs, and their platforms.
This was done in hopes that the CEOs will show their gratitude, and understand the frustration that is being expressed. However, it seems only time will tell if any real action is taken to reduce the amount of negativity that adults and children are faced with daily.
It was clear that the CEOs were deeply touched by the comments that they were receiving. Many parents hope that this was not just ‘for show,’ and that they live up to their word.
Written by David Loran Jr
Sources:
CNN News: Mark Zuckerberg apologizes to families over social media harms in contentious Senate hearing
ABC News: Zuckerberg apologizes to families of kids harmed online as Senate grills tech CEOs
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Dan Farber’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of ajay_suresh’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
