It has been less than 20 years since the introduction of social media. Platforms designed to "connect" the world and "connect" people to one another. There has never been a time like this in all of man kind. The ability to display information instantly and receive feedback just as fast. The ability to understand people through the use of profiles...or try to at least.
If you add an admirer on social media and then see them in person, will your interpretation of their profile have an effect on how you react to the initial face to face encounter? It would be interesting to see how much of an effect a profile can have on initial face to face communication. Independent variables such as context (text-images), misinformation (age-nationality-interests), and social media platforms could set the stage for....wait for it.....propaganda.
Propaganda is nothing new, it has been used by central governments with the systems of authority to widely effect the individuals and cultures within their purview. Examples include The "War on Drugs" In the United States, Holocaust Propaganda, and North Korea Propaganda. Every single social media profile ever created has the potential to be used as a means of propaganda.
Karl Popper, an Austrian-British philosopher and professor stated
"The piecemeal engineer (social engineer) will, accordingly, adopt the method of searching for, and fighting against, the greatest and most urgent evils of society, rather than searching for, and fighting for, its greatest ultimate good."
Weather or not Popper is correct is still up for debate but he does shed light on a possible future. Searching for individuals online who are likely to commit crime could actually become a reality. The U.S Customs and Border Protection is proposing making social media accounts part of the visa screening process for entry into the country. The information collected from the social media accounts will be used to perform more thorough investigations. What if someone posts false information or information that could be misleading?
Our dependency on technology will create a lot of room for lies and manipulation. Employers might even ask for social media accounts and the employee could post how much they love their job to maybe get a better shot at a promotion. Surveillance works both ways and no matter how close you look, what is being viewed can simply be an act of propaganda.
References
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/28/us-customs-border-protection-social-media-accounts-facebook-twitter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper
If you add an admirer on social media and then see them in person, will your interpretation of their profile have an effect on how you react to the initial face to face encounter? It would be interesting to see how much of an effect a profile can have on initial face to face communication. Independent variables such as context (text-images), misinformation (age-nationality-interests), and social media platforms could set the stage for....wait for it.....propaganda.
Propaganda is nothing new, it has been used by central governments with the systems of authority to widely effect the individuals and cultures within their purview. Examples include The "War on Drugs" In the United States, Holocaust Propaganda, and North Korea Propaganda. Every single social media profile ever created has the potential to be used as a means of propaganda.
Karl Popper, an Austrian-British philosopher and professor stated
"The piecemeal engineer (social engineer) will, accordingly, adopt the method of searching for, and fighting against, the greatest and most urgent evils of society, rather than searching for, and fighting for, its greatest ultimate good."
Weather or not Popper is correct is still up for debate but he does shed light on a possible future. Searching for individuals online who are likely to commit crime could actually become a reality. The U.S Customs and Border Protection is proposing making social media accounts part of the visa screening process for entry into the country. The information collected from the social media accounts will be used to perform more thorough investigations. What if someone posts false information or information that could be misleading?
Our dependency on technology will create a lot of room for lies and manipulation. Employers might even ask for social media accounts and the employee could post how much they love their job to maybe get a better shot at a promotion. Surveillance works both ways and no matter how close you look, what is being viewed can simply be an act of propaganda.
References
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/28/us-customs-border-protection-social-media-accounts-facebook-twitter
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper