OPINION: Social media can be abused

Since the illegal storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, it appears that many of the social media platforms have banned President Trump from utilizing their services. This is a terrific blow to a man who depended upon social media to get his personal messages out for the past four years, and it has caused a rather heated discussion over the free speech amendment to our Constitution.

Former presidents have often drawn an imaginary line stating that anyone or any country that crosses it will face dire consequences, although past history has revealed that seldom if any of those threats were carried out. Today, there appears to be a line drawn between people who feel free speech should include anything and others who feel that there are limits to the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech. Apparently, the CEOs of social media have established a line over which anyone who steps is immediately restricted from using their social platforms. The problem is in determining exactly where that line is located.

In the case of President Trump, the CEOs apparently had little difficulty deciding that he had gone too far in what he stated in his tweets. Obviously, no restriction had been placed upon him for sending out so many disputed posts during the past four years, but tweets by which he is alleged to have incited a riot in Washington, D.C., apparently went too far for them. Some people will agree with this ostracizing action; others will not. However, the question remains: What about other people's tweets that also appear to go too far by expressing actions that break the law? Will they, too, be restricted from social media?

First, it should be obvious to everyone that free speech does not mean that a person may say anything at any time without repercussions. You cannot walk into a place of business and loudly condemn or threaten someone, and you cannot make a written statement on social media that calls for someone to be injured or killed. Consider the signs now adorning the check-in at Mercy Medical sites which clearly state that if you verbally assault any worker you will be prosecuted. Our personal rights have always only gone so far, and although their limitations are not always clearly stated, people generally know what they are. For instance, if a business has a sign on its door stating "no shirt, no shoes, no admittance," you know your personal dress code has been altered by that business.

Frankly, I do not know where these lines restricting our personal freedoms should be placed and I have no desire to suggest their location; but I do know they exist. It is one thing for someone at a sports event to become excited and yell, "Kill the umpire!" but you never hear the cheerleaders yelling the same thing. While I personally believe that President Trump stepped over the line with social media, I am still not sure exactly where that line is.

But secondly, the ability to express oneself on social media also raises some difficult questions outside of the political arena. I have friends (and I know you also have friends) who like to post everything they do while on vacation -- you know, pictures, commentary, etc. Many of them also like to post both their personal feelings and their opinions about something. And, while these normally are harmless and deal mostly with emotions instead of something that can be checked out factually, the response to them is often interesting. Most of the people who disagree are very polite and refuse to be drawn into a confrontation. The ones who answer are people who tend to agree with the person doing the posting and their response urges him/her to continue that line of thinking. Thus, someone who posts so many innermost thoughts is going to have people who encourage him/her in pursuing a line of reasoning that may indeed be faulty and misleading. The result is a person's confusion over what is true and what is untrue.

Social media is a terrific platform for staying in touch with friends, but it gets a little murky whenever it is used in an attempt to get others to do something you desire but can't do yourself. As I stated earlier, I have no idea where the line should be drawn within social media, but I tend to believe that our postings should strengthen our friendships, be used to build people up, instead of putting them down, and at least make an attempt to express truth instead of just stating what we want or believe. Social media is wonderful, but it can be abused.

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Robert Box is the former chaplain for the Bella Vista Police Department and is currently the Fire Department chaplain. Opinions expressed are those of the author.