Freedom of Speech in This Day and Age

This is the winning speech from the 4-way Test speaking contest for this year. Mei spoke at the district conference

 

By Mei Dasgupta

This message was sent to all parents and students of Clark Middle School in Chelsea, Massachusetts, and on December 17th of 2021, hundreds of schools across the country closed their doors. In New Hampshire alone, over 184 institutes shut down on this day, and most of those that elected to remain open had increased police and security monitoring the premises. But why did schooling come to such an abrupt halt on this day? Well, many police agencies received frantic alerts from parents reporting that several students were threatening to shoot up their schools. Upon further examination, however, these threats were deemed not credible, rather, they were part of a social media challenge, “National Shoot up You School Day,” said to have taken the online platform TikTok by storm. Today, I will be applying the Rotary Four-Way Test to freedom of speech as practiced on social media.

The four-way test is composed of four pillars. One: Is it true that our current practice of uninhibited freedom of speech on social media is hurting us more than it is benefiting us? Two: is it fair that we live in the fear of canceled culture and unmitigated attacks on our beliefs? Three: is social media today building goodwill and friendship amongst diverse groups of people? And finally, is the way we speak on social media today beneficial to our society?     Let us begin by examining the first question the Four-Way test raises. It is indeed true that today, over 4.9 billion individuals are on the internet. Over 82% of the United States population is active on social media, both consuming content and sharing their own opinions. Speech itself has evolved from individual diatribes to a chorus of voices, all speaking at once, and this privilege of speaking our minds freely and openly is enshrined in the First Amendment, which gives us the ability to call out wrongs, stand up for our beliefs, and demand justice. But what do we do when our free speech, that which has liberated thousands, millions, becomes convoluted and used to spread wrong or harmful information via social media? An example of this was December 17th, in which schools across the United States were shut down due to one harmful trend. ‘Cancel culture’ is also taking its toll on social media users, especially teenagers and young adults. One high school sophomore from Upstate New York was so distraught when this culture turned on him that he took his own life in April of 2021. He is not the first to have turned to extreme measures after experiencing the onslaught of social media scrutiny, and unless we change the way we talk to others online, he will not be the last.

Secondly, it is not fair that both children and adults are subject to attacks on their beliefs and culture by people through a screen who don’t even know them. Debate and discussion are being inhibited by groupthink and the herd mentality, and it is not fair that some of us must now self-censor to the extent that unless our opinions are in line with the widespread consensus, we cannot speak our minds, and we stay quiet, in fear. Along with this constant uncertainty, lies and false information also have a stronghold on us, making social media users’ lives more difficult. Misinformation is spread by all sorts of authorities: Irresponsible platforms, politicians who lie with impunity, and people who stand to make a buck off of misinformation, such as advertisers. But along with all of these fallacies, we must also look at what we are doing to contribute to this toxic situation. How many of us are taking the information we see online for granted? In a study by Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, students from 12 different states were asked to analyze information presented in tweets, comments, and articles and then determine which details were fact and which fiction. More than 7,800 student responses were collected, and the results? They were dismaying. The students displayed consistency in getting duped by misinformed websites, and more than 80% of the students believed that biased advertisements were veritable news articles. It may seem fair that everyone has the right to make a social media account, and they seemingly have to the right to speak their minds, but the environment on social media today means, in actuality, very few people can say what they believe, and others are getting hurt by lies and rumors.

    Third: Is the culture of social media helping to foster goodwill and friendships between people? This is a more complex question to answer. Social media was no doubt created with the best of intentions in mind, and when used correctly, it connects people from across the globe, allowing us to expand our thought processes and keep an open mind. But if we only ever speak up to speak our own opinions and crush others, if we only ever talk to people who believe the same things we believe, then social media becomes an echo chamber stifling diversity. Multiple studies have also found a link between harmful social media websites and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and loneliness. If we are afraid to reach out, afraid to speak online, how can we connect, share our feelings, and build friendships with others?

Finally, is the state of social media today beneficial to our society? I want to say unequivocally that I believe freedom of speech is a right we all deserve. Social media, when used correctly, can inspire justice and change minds. But this can only be true if the toxicity around these platforms is eliminated. The use of social media can only be fair if we allow everyone to speak without immediately attacking them. By extending our interactions on social media to a global scale and not staying in our own little bubbles, we can build goodwill and friendships with people of all cultures and backgrounds. When we use our voices on social media to promote good, incite change, and help others,

 

our society benefits - our society flourishes. In order to reap the benefits of social media, we must understand the responsibility that is entailed upon us when we are given the tools to spread our words online, and we must exercise this understanding and restraint with every pointed click, with every like, share, and retweet. And with every hashtag trend we follow, we must ask ourselves - would this pass the four-way test?