Digital Media Ethics; What's Right and What's wrong?
By: Olivia Farwell
Ethics and Journalism
Ethics has always been a key factor in journalism. Journalists always have to keep the key components of ethics in the back of their minds. They have to make sure they are careful and following every rule in the book to keep themselves and their companies out of any kind of trouble. However, times are changing and the time we live in is constantly improving and enhancing technology. Due to this, anyone can become a blogger or a journalist and basically post whatever they want due to the internet being an open book.
Newbies Versus Oldies
With an evolution and a high demand with mixed media news appearing in today’s world, there comes a slight problem with what people read coming from professionals versus newbies. Professional journalists and bloggers know the ways and they know what guidelines they need to follow. But those same guidelines have been around for so long that while news media is changing very rapid, those rules are not. They need to though. There should be a rethought process and a reinvented set of ethics for today’s world.
Certain questions may help us understand what needs to be done and what should be done to help untangle and clarify any misunderstandings or concerns. The reality is, that we now live in a world where there is no longer just print media and professional journalists. Now, anyone can become a blogger and provide the world with news information. There is no longer only print media that people look to for information, but with the mixed media world changing our world, we now have digital and print media. Which is where the conflicts form. Old fashioned ethical terms really only provide guidance for print media. Media ethics must be rethought and revised.
Changes with Social Media
One huge issue that comes from an ethical viewpoint when it comes to the use of social media, is the idea that the content being put out can sometimes lose its authentic content. And in a way, this will hurt people who are using social media to help benefit people. Now, the problem comes into play when other users in the digital world do not think twice about clicking the share button. At first, the content looks good and maybe appears to be something that could impact a lot of people or help them. So, when people are only just clicking the share button, they may not realize that somewhere in between the lines, there could be words that are negatively that will affect a person, or even a company.
Digital media paints a huge picture of an ethical problem. On top of having amateurs and just anyone on the street who can be an influencer or a blogger, sometimes the use of a share button can put people in danger. With print media, it’s up to the consumers to have to buy a copy for themselves and then they have it. Which is a huge difference as to why so many people in today’s world turn to the digital world. It’s easier to spread the word. Many young writers who blog or use technology to influence the world, don’t take a step back to think or even look at what they are doing to make sure there are no problems. It’s all about who can get the most likes and the most shares and who can be the top influencer on the internet.
In today’s world, there has to be a universal agreement on a code of ethics that works for everyone in a journalism mindset. This goes for bloggers and people who are influencing the world by technology. Just like with print journalism, social media and the use of blogs should be governed and watched over by a group of moral ethics that can also work for print media.
Sources:
https://ethics.journalism.wisc.edu/resources/digital-media-ethics/