A Site Call : Six Degrees Of Separation Essay

In the play, Six Degrees of Separation by John Guare, a young black man named Paul convinces wealthy New York families that he is the son of a famous black actor named Sidney Poitier. He also tells them that he goes to Harvard with their children so they would fully accept him and provide the shelter he needs, instead of stereotyping him as a black American who would called a criminal or drug addict. Behind his false identity Paul is a con man who has learned the ways to con wealthy New York families. His former lover Trent Conway is a former classmate of the wealthy families’ children. Trent taught Paul how to talk like a rich person, how to act like one, and all the information he needed to be accepted into their circle. Paul then uses

The first type of social media was created in 1997 and it was called Six Degrees. It allowed you to upload a profile for yourself and be friends with other people on the site. It wasn’t until February of 2004 when Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg. When Facebook first came out it was an instant hit. Another social media that is trending is Twitter, which was created in March of 2006. Twitter did not become as big of a hit as Facebook in the beginning because Facebook was still the highest used social media in the world at the same time Twitter came out. In the book by Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, it helps shows how twitter and social media is more of a connector than a maven or salesperson. Without the use of social such

Online networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, are key ways that individuals speak with each other. Prior to this period of technology, society

According to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, the people of the nation are entitled to the freedom of speech, but not all speech is the same. The internet provides us with an infinite amount of information, grants us access to virtually everything we could want and acts as an unrestrained vehicle of communication. In the day and age where technology is advancing and social media and internet are of rising importance, the Supreme Court of the United States has been faced with the challenge of deciding what constitutes a true threat made on social media websites.

Every day, millions of people use social media to either converse with their peers or to post pictures. There has been much discussion on whether or not individuals should be prosecuted for rude statements made on social media. Individuals should not be prosecuted for derogative statements made on social media. Although some may say that prosecuting cyberbullies for statements made on social media is beneficial, it would have many negative consequences. Prosecuting individuals for statements made on the internet would discourage personal responsibility, be a violation of the first amendment, and squander tax payers' money.

A case of social media harassment has gone all the way to the supreme court. In 2014 a case of social media harassment Elonis v.United States appeared in front of the supreme court. Defendant Anthony Elonis had threatened not only his wife and children but also two female co-workers. The argument is whether Elonis harassing Facebook post are claimed to be part of his disturbed sense of humor or taken as true threats. If found guilty to these charges Elonis could be charged with five years in prison and $250,000 fine. Social media is a place to share thought and opinions with friends, not a place to harass and threaten innocent

simple. Social networking was a place for people to just meet and converse in general.

Before inspecting and analyzing social media’s role in today’s society, the purpose of it needs to be acknowledged. The first form of it came about in the late 1990’s in the shape of a website called Six Degrees. The website, in the words of founder Andrew Weinreich, “was created based on the theory that every person in the world could be connected to each other by just six degrees of separation” (Eastern Michigan University Public Relations). Although it has succeeded, the original idea of Weinreich and Six Degrees has been abused and blown way out of proportion. Yes, everyone is indeed connected, which is amazing on its own. However, when the actions of billions are combined in an online world where no filter is necessary and nobody is afraid

Increasingly, the internet is notably used as a weapon of discontent where active users need to be much more mindful of what they post online as they decide to air out their dirty laundry on Twitter, Facebook or any social platform of their choice. In the last year alone, the United Kingdom has seen a 23% increase in defamation cases due to the rise of social media.

Let us first see a brief summary of this case. Anthony Elonis, a Pennsylvania resident, was left by his wife in May, 2010 and afterwards lost his job for posting improper messages concerning his colleague on Facebook. In October 2010, he also started posting overly violent messages about his wife. One of his Facebook posts said, “There’s one way to love you but a thousand way to kill you.” One month later, Elonis got restraining order from his wife (Ferrilli, et al 2014). Besides, he threated to blow up local elementary school and intimidated against a female FBI agent. All of those posts led him to eventually being arrested and charged. He served three and half years prison sentence, but the fact is he did not carry out actual actions (Hill, 2014). However, this case brings up many controversial issues to discuss. Did his words on Facebook constitute a “real threat”? Should people whom use violent and threat words on social media outlets still under the protection of free speech base on the First Amendment? What is more, should comments on social platforms be interpreted differently than comments in other forms?

It should concern all of us that social media allows users to insult, bully and threaten others without the fear of significant, if any, punishment or legal ramifications. While some would argue that social media is merely an outlet that should allow freedom of speech, others counter the argument with how far is too far within this constitutional freedom. Where do we draw the line? After all, the United States Constitution is clear on the matter: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (http://www.uscourts.gov)

Despite such concerns, courts haven 't issued a definitive ruling distinguishing social media posts from other electronic communications. The case law is already filled with instances in which the government obtained social media evidence through a warrant or subpoena directed at a social media company. Social media evidence is the new frontier of criminal proceedings and it raises unique legal challenges, including issues of admissibility and a defendant’s constitutional rights in material that social media companies maintain. Federal law provides that in some circumstances, the government may compel social media companies to produce social media evidence without a warrant. The Stored Communication Act (“SCA”) governs the ability of governmental entities to compel service providers, such as Twitter and Facebook, to produce content (e.g., posts and tweets) and non content customer records (e.g., name and address) in certain circumstances. Even though the SCA has not been amended to reflect

This website allowed school students to connect among themselves but was later shut down due to improper maintenance. In 2002, Friendster.com was created and was an instant hit among the teens as it offered very unique features. The company was growing at a rapid pace and it became difficult for them to maintain their servers and hence turned out to be failure. In 2004, Facebook was founded which later became the king of social networks. After the rise of Facebook, social media became a platform for the people to discuss about social and cultural issues.

In order to measure the legal realm of social media, it is first important to understand the amendment that covers the freedom of speech: The First Amendment. The First Amendment specifically states in the United States Constitution, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” This Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America is what gives people the right to practice religion, freedom of speech and press, and the right to peaceably assemble and petition the government. Dissecting this

In terms of social media on the Internet, we started communication in the form of blogging or virtual communities like Friendster or Myspace. the internet provided a platform for people around the world to exchange information without the restriction of time and space. Social media extended our human abilities and body, which empowers people conduct thought provoking discussion, breakdown of barriers, and eventually led to the uprising of the Netizens.