Social Media

[gordo]

 

[Ulrich]

The term "social" in social media is really as contradictory as anything to all the anti-social hate-speech, selfish narcissism and masses of conspiracy-based puking in it ...
After about ten years or more - a very long time, I am very surprised that all the platforms are still growing. In market stock as well as serious journalism killing influence to culture.
I guess there is no swarm intelligence. Time for AI, because mankind is not able to share and develop their intellectual potential anymore ;-)

 

[Possumgal]

With all the warnings about companies asking to check potential employees' social media accounts before hiring and such, you'd think people would be a little more circumspect. Too much instant gratification and the yearning for approval from anybody who'll push a Like button.

 

[MailGuru]

..............you'd think people would be a little more circumspect. Too much instant gratification and the yearning for approval from anybody who'll push a Like button.

Nope, the intelligence level of the average social media user has dropped to the point where I am very worried about our future. In today's world, you actually have people committing crimes, taking a selfie video of themselves during the commission of the crime, then posting it on social media. Then, they get that "deer-in-the-headlights" look when law enforcement knocks on their front door. Well, DUH!

 

[Alois Senefelder]

Hello fellow Lithographers,

"Ever-increasing electronic traffic numbs our brains, dumbs our speech and often displaces off-screen reality"

Dr. David Zigmund GP

 

[namelessentity]

Nope, the intelligence level of the average social media user has dropped to the point where I am very worried about our future. In today's world, you actually have people committing crimes, taking a selfie video of themselves during the commission of the crime, then posting it on social media. Then, they get that "deer-in-the-headlights" look when law enforcement knocks on their front door. Well, DUH!

I mean, isn't that a good thing though? If we're gonna have criminals I'd rather them be dumb as rocks and get caught.

 

[kansasquaker]

I'm so sick of hearing 'freedom of speech' misapplied. The first amendment (in the US) limits government action against you. It does not give you impunity from the rest of society. You do not have a right to your job. If the people paying you are dissatisfied with your actions, they have every right to stop employing you in the future.

 

[AP90]

I'm so sick of hearing 'freedom of speech' misapplied. The first amendment (in the US) limits government action against you. It does not give you impunity from the rest of society. You do not have a right to your job. If the people paying you are dissatisfied with your actions, they have every right to stop employing you in the future.

Fully agree with you. I cringe every time someone starts complaining about they got fired or got their social media account suspended because they said something. "this is America, I have free speech". True, the government can't shut you down, but if I hire you and tell you that you can't say the words "freedom of speech" in the workplace and you do, guess what, you can be fired.

Side note, I hate it when people get all pissed when a group such as the KKK passes out flyers or holds rallies. While I think their views are despicable, I could never agree with the government regulating their speech, the same as I would support Communist groups, BLM, or the alt-right's freedom to speech from the government. In order for me to have the right to speak my views and beliefs, I also have to afford the same rights to people I disagree with.

 

[gordo]

It’s one thing to censure an employee’s speech in the workplace - but should the power of censure extend beyond the workplace into the employees personal social media platform?

 

[namelessentity]

It’s one thing to censure an employee’s speech in the workplace - but should the power of censure extend beyond the workplace into the employees personal social media platform?

This is an issue I have. Especially since you can make your account private to non-friends. If I vent about my co-workers or boss on my account why is that grounds for termination? It's not like I went to the local news and put the company on blast. As long as it's not forward facing I don't think an employer should have the right to terminate or discipline you for it.

 

[kansasquaker]

It’s one thing to censure an employee’s speech in the workplace - but should the power of censure extend beyond the workplace into the employees personal social media platform?

Yes. A person is entitled to speak their mind, and an employer cannot prevent them from so doing. Employers are people and they have rights too. Why would or should an employer have to pay somebody who insists on disparaging their company? If an employee is unhappy, they can quit. Employers deserve the reciprocal right to rid themselves of malcontented employees.

 

[gordo]

Yes. A person is entitled to speak their mind, and an employer cannot prevent them from so doing. Employers are people and they have rights too. Why would or should an employer have to pay somebody who insists on disparaging their company? If an employee is unhappy, they can quit. Employers deserve the reciprocal right to rid themselves of malcontented employees.

Sometimes there is no other employer to move to if one quits or one loses employment benefits by quitting. Perhaps the employee is acting as a whistleblower to warn future potential employees of the workplace conditions. Something like Rate my Employer - Home
but without the anonymity.

 

[AP90]

Sometimes there is no other employer to move to if one quits or one loses employment benefits by quitting. Perhaps the employee is acting as a whistleblower to warn future potential employees of the workplace conditions.

Or, if there is no other employer to move to, maybe they should be thankful they have a job and not say negative things about the employer they are currently at to social media? Most of the time these people dig their own graves by posting stuff.

 

[kansasquaker]

Sometimes there is no other employer to move to if one quits or one loses employment benefits by quitting. Perhaps the employee is acting as a whistleblower to warn future potential employees of the workplace conditions. Something like Rate my Employer - Home
but without the anonymity.

Perhaps, but sometimes there are no other employees to hire in place of a bad one. Perhaps the employee is upset that they were rightfully passed over for a promotion, is ill informed, exaggerating or being untruthful about issues at the company. The world is full of potentially bad 'what ifs'. But that doesn't justify stripping a person of their liberty. In this case, the liberty of the employer to contract freely for services.

Aside from contrived examples and unusual circumstances, these things tend to work themselves out pretty well. Bad employers get a reputation (everybody in Kansas City knows who they are) and struggle to get good employees. Weeding out bad employees is much more difficult. More often than not, the employers get the short end of this stick. If you make things harder for them, you'll likely find there are fewer employers.