It is well understood that communications media has long been used as a tool for social change. Consider the following examples from radio in the 1930s and 40s, television in the 1960s, and social media today:
Franklin Roosevelt’s “fireside chats,” delivered via radio, helped galvanize a frightened and dispirited American public to move beyond the Great Depression and back to economic productivity.
Walter Cronkite’s critical reports of the Vietnam War strengthened the anti-war movement and prompted President Lyndon Johnson to decline running for a second term as president.
In 2010, a revolutionary wave in North Africa and the Middle East effectively used social media to communicate and raise awareness of conflicts.
As of April 2015, the DonorsChange.org site raised $320,586,373 to fund 571,111 projects helping 14,431,753 students of 231,701 teachers at 61,608 schools.
Stopbullying.gov reports “The 2010-2011 School Crime Supplement (National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics) indicates that 9% of students in grades 6–12 experienced cyberbullying…The 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey finds that 15% of high school students (grades 9-12) were electronically bullied in the past year” (n.d., “Frequency of Cyberbullying,” para. 1–2).
With the advent of the Internet and the astonishing rise of social media, anyone can post a website or blog. As such, individuals can post their beliefs and opinions on any topic claiming the validity of their ideas without basing their information on concrete facts. This type of misinformation can be harmful and demonstrate unethical behavior.
Psychologists are often called upon to analyze the impact and implications of communications media on people and communities and to provide evidence-based guidance that could lead to more effective and compassionate applications and use.
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