Websites: A Thematic Collection

These websites represent a small collection of resources available on the web for research in the area of social media ethics. I have created a Venn diagram to illustrate how these resources overlap and interact thematically.

ALA: Professional Ethics

http://www.ala.org/tools/ethics

This page can be seen as an extension of the ALA Code of Ethics. It contains questions and answers about ethical situations that have been adopted by the ALA Committee on Professional Ethics. The section on “Questions & Answers on Ethics and Social Media” is of particular interest. It answers several broad ethical questions that relate to librarians’ obligations to patrons, fact-checking “shared” material on social media, etc. This is a very useful page, both because it directly relates to my theme of social media ethics in librarianship, and because it is issued from my primary professional organization.

Social Media: The NPR Way

http://ethics.npr.org/tag/social-media/

This page is a subsection of the NPR Ethics Handbook. The handbook targets journalistic ethics, and NPR’s approach/standards specifically, however, it ends up being a wonderful guide for any purported “professional” to follow, especially information professionals. In many ways, librarians and journalists share similar roles on social media – sharing accurate and timely information with a wide variety of patrons, in an unbiased and accessible manner. This guide is broken up into sections with themes like “Excellence,” “Accuracy,” “Honesty,” etc. There are links to further resources, like the National Press Photographers Association’s code of ethics, and pertinent articles with examples. I selected this resource because although the professions are different, these are still professional ethics, and journalists are having to face social media ethics the same way that librarians are, by mapping “analog” ethical standards to this new media. In the context of this collection of websites, it overlaps the ALA webpage above in addressing professional ethics in social media.

YouTube: Rutgers SC&I Social Media & Society Cluster channel

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqkEaHo6pqb7IyiE1WZ9sug

This YouTube channel’s “About” section explains that the people behind it are “a transdisciplinary group of faculty at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information whose research explores social media and society.” I selected this webpage because of the fantastic videos on social media, like “Librarians as Social Media Curators,” and “Social Media and Connective Journalism.” The topics of these videos start with social media as a core topic and create bridges to other relevant topics, like librarianship, journalism, analytics, and various social concepts. While there are not a huge number of videos, the page appears to still be active, and the videos are worth watching. This webpage helps put social media in context of a greater society and the technological changes that affect us all.

Librarians and ethics in use of technology

http://www.doug-johnson.com/dougwri/librarians-and-ethics-in-use-of-technology.html

The umbrella website that this page is on is Doug Johnson’s blog, subtitled “Writing, Speaking and Consulting on School Technology and Library Issues.” The entire blog is worthy of inclusion, but I want to focus on one particular post, because it is so interesting an informative. This blog post is essentially a chapter from a larger book, cited as “Chapter five: Ethics in use of technology, from Ethics in School Librarianship: A Reader.” While Mr. Johnson is active in professional organizations, well-published, and very experienced, this blog is not the “official word” on anything, like the ALA and NPR sites are, but rather must be viewed as opinion-based (although well researched and not to be taken lightly). Mr. Johnson goes through the ALA Code of Ethics piece by piece to comment on how technology affects the Code, dilemmas that technology has brought about that the Code applies to, and more. This is specifically aimed at School Library Media Specialists, but it contains important ethical explorations that are relevant to all of librarianship. This chapter is 15 years old now, and can be looked at as a warning of things to come, problems that have only grown and have yet to be solved. I would recommend starting with this page, then moving on to other content, like his ethics guide on teaching information technology ethics to children and young adults at http://dougjohnson.squarespace.com/ethics/

Privacy Double Standards: Patron data versus employee data

I interviewed an Assistant Professor of Library Sciences and Web Resources Librarian of 1.5 years about ethics in librarianship. Some of the issues she mentioned were censorship of library computers, and intrusion on library employees’ personal lives, which seemed to be “demanding employees be available nearly 24/7 because of smart phones/social media.” This concern about respecting privacy had a lot to do with a personal situation that she recently faced that she felt was ethically “gray.” She shared with me that “a former coworker” used her patron record at her previous employer library and “looked up my personal cell phone number […] and called me on it, citing a desperate need to talk to me.” She at first assumed there was indeed an important problem at hand, “but she was actually trying to set me up on a date with her son.” This brought to the forefront her concerns about respecting the privacy of ALL library users, not just “regular” patrons. She said “If I had never worked there and was just a patron, she would never have dreamed of violating my privacy like that.” She regrets not handling the situation better at the time, saying that “in retrospect I should have reported her to her manager and the director of the system. Not only did she use library information for personal gain, but she used information she heard by eavesdropping to cajole me into going on a date that I didn’t want to go on.  So many boundaries were crossed.”

               

I would like to think that people know better than that, but clearly not. Her story reminded me of similar experiences and anecdotes that I had forgotten, from my days working in retail, when coworkers crossed lines in giving out other coworkers’ personal phone numbers to customers. That separation in customer service, the line that maintains a professional distance between customer service interactions and personal interactions, is absolutely sacred and not to be crossed. Whenever I hear stories about that element of work/life balance being violated, it is similar to feeling a Star Wars-esque “disturbance in the Force.” To me, that is not just ethically gray at all, it is a blatant crossing of boundaries. However, every situation has nuance, and I have to remember to see both sides of a conundrum. To the person who looked up her phone number to set up a date with her son, the importance of that happening, in her mind, was worth the risk of seeming intrusive and misusing information. I may not agree with that level of import, and neither does my interviewee, but in trying to understand how people make the decisions they do about how they use information, perhaps we can learn what gaps in knowledge need to be filled with ethical training and programs.

Collection Development on the topic of ethics & social media

As a pathway to developing a better understanding of the content area of social media ethics, I explored some resources that would be useful to add to a professional collection. These resources are not necessarily focused on social media ethics in libraries, but can be used to form a basis for social media ethics use in general. There are not many publications currently with a focus on ethics & social media solely in a library setting. Here are the highlighted resources I chose:

Journal of Media Ethics, Philadelphia, PA: Routledge, ISSN 2373-6992, http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/hmme21/current

     Formerly Journal of Mass Media Ethics, this refereed, academic journal is focused on presenting and defining ethical situations, but “does not take positions,” according to a review in Ulrichsweb by Caroline Kent (http://ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com/title/1518456773938/188010). Under its former title, the journal has been in publication since 1985, and some of the most-cited articles cover topics like user-generated content, guidelines for digital engagement, Kantian roots of media ethics, professional responsibility in public relations, the online self, and the ethics of online anonymity. The scope of the journal is relevant to the confluence of ethics and social media, and quarterly publication ensures content will be recent and strive to maintain relevance.

A secondary serial option: 

Ethics and Information Technology, Netherlands: Springer, ISSN: 1388-1957 (Print) 1572-8439 (Online), http://link.springer.com/journal/10676 

This is one of the few journals I have been able to locate focuses specifically on ethics and ICT. According to Scopus’ CiteScore ranking for 2016 (the most recent data available), Ethics and Information Technology is the highest-ranking journal in the “Library and Information Sciences” category with a content focus on ethics. Looking at what Scopus metrics show to be the most-cited articles in the journal, I can see how this title will be relevant in exploring social media use by libraries. Some of the articles include “The Crisis of Consent: How Stronger Legal Protection May Lead to Weaker Consent in Data Protection,” “Flaming? What flaming? The Pitfalls and Potentials of Researching Online Hostility,” “Successful Failure: What Foucault Can Teach Us About Privacy Self-management in a World of Facebook and Big Data.”

Noor Al-Deen, H. S., & Hendricks, J. A. (Eds.). 2011. Social media: Usage and impact. Maryland: Lexington Books.

     Jennifer Henderson’s review of this book in the Journal of Mass Media Ethics was a big reason for including it in this list. She says in the review that the book “is not designed as an ethics text, but many of the chapters uncover ethical questions inherent in this new medium” (2013, 217). There is a particular chapter that interests me as well, the last one, entitled “Tweets, Blogs, Facebook and the Ethics of 21st Century Technology.” In this chapter, contributor James Benjamin provides an “in-depth discussion of ethics” (Henderson 2013, 218). David Stuart, of King’s College London, also reviewed this title, in Online Information Review. He complains that it is not comprehensive, it is US-focused, and tends to have more information about the more dominant technologies, like Facebook and Twitter. The things he complains about are positive elements for my purposes – that is, finding something that will be relevant to building a knowledge base in the area of ethics and popular social media in the United States. This title is relevant and targeted to the topic of ethics in social media. Editor Dr. Noor Al-Deen is a professor at UNC Wilmington, and was chair of the SSCA Mass Communication, Popular Communication, and Intercultural Communication divisions (http://people.uncw.edu/noor/Misc%20Pages/nooraldeen.html). Dr. Hendricks is chair of the Dept. of Mass Communications at Stephen F. Austin State University, past president of the Broadcast Education Association, and has published & edited over 10 books in this topic area (http://www.sfasu.edu/masscomm/160.asp). The positive, in-depth review and the excellent backgrounds of the editors

References:

Henderson, Jennifer Jacobs. 2013. "Searching for Ethics in Social Media." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 28, no. 3: 217-219. Book Review Digest Plus (H.W. Wilson), EBSCOhost (accessed February 12, 2018).

Stuart, David. 2013 “Social Media: Usage and Impact," Online Information Review 37 Issue: 3, 486-487. https://doi-org.ezp.twu.edu/10.1108/OIR-04-2013-0092

Beasley, Berrin, and Haney, Mitchell R. (Eds.). 2013. Social Media and the Value of Truth. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.


A CHOICE review (CHOICE is a publication of the ACRL) by J. A. Kegley recommends this title, and remarks that it “raises significant questions about a phenomenon – social media – that now is central to people’s lives and culture” (2013). A review in the Journal of Mass Media Ethics also recommends it, for scholars studying “the implications of social media,” and for faculty “who wish to explore contemporary or philosophical issues related to” social media (Mackay 2013, 223). Because of the focus of the book and the positive reviews, it would be a worthy title to add to a burgeoning collection on the topic.

References:

Kegley, J.A. 2013. "Social media and the value of truth." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, July 2013, 2029. Literature Resource Center. Accessed 12 Feb. 2018.

Mackay, Jenn Burleson. 2013. "Social media and the value of truth." Journal Of Mass Media Ethics 28, no. 3: 222-223. Social Sciences Citation Index, EBSCOhost (accessed February 12, 2018).

Article Review: “Flourishing on Facebook: Virtue Friendship & New Social Media.”

Vallor, S. 2012. Flourishing on facebook: virtue friendship & new social media. Ethics and Information Technology, 14(3), 185-199. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-010-9262-2

Article summary: As pervasive as social media has become in people’s lives, very little attention has been paid academically to the ethics of its use. Vallor’s article seeks to recognize the “ethical significance” of social media in relation to friendship (p. 186). She applies Aristotle’s virtue ethics, stating several reasons for this decision, including that friendship plays an important part in Aristotle’s “good life,” that it has “conceptual flexibility,” and can “account for the long-term and cumulative impact of particular practices on our character” (p. 186-7). Having a thriving social media life does not necessarily mean you have a “good life,” however. Does social media cause people to develop ethical traits, or does it prevent them from doing so? Vallor explores this through examination of the themes of “reciprocity, empathy, self-knowledge, and the shared life” (p. 188).

               

     Reciprocity, which is a “give and take” in social situations, is a key virtue in Aristotle’s concept of friendship (p. 189). Facebook and other social media platforms present an impressive array of opportunities for reciprocity. Think of how often we interact with others on social media, even just a simple “like” or “share” is a show of reciprocity. Are these activities virtuous though? Political and charitable posts, meant to gain support or outrage regarding social or world issues, illustrate ways that reciprocity can be used in a virtuous way through social media. But do they foster true, deep friendship? Generally no. But Facebook may be instrumental in maintaining “complete friendships” that would otherwise have died off without social media intervention (p. 191).  

     Empathy, feeling another’s feelings, is another facet of friendship, although Artistotle does not specifically address it directly. Vallor asserts that empathy is something that we must maintain and accept, or else we retreat behind hard shells and cannot connect in this important way. Social media, again, presents many ways of expressing empathy for one another (whether or not these are all illustrative of real empathy, well, that is up for debate). Simply “showing up” to offer support is still indicative of an attempt at empathy, putting forth the effort of posting “get well soon” is still something. But is it enough to foster the virtue of empathy, or is it empty ritual?

               

      Self-knowledge, which I liken to emotional intelligence, is another part of Aristotle’s definition of friendship. Introspection and assessment of one’s own virtues and failings, and then the friendship that helps build up and reflect the virtues (and the providing of that type of friendship) is essential. Can social media make us more self aware? Vallor says that when people who feel alone are able to connect with other people like them online, and see that they are not alone, the connection and mirroring of selves can bring about this sort of self-knowledge (p. 195). However, this is a more shallow type of self-knowledge than what Aristotle meant. Social media does not appear to be fostering deep discussion and self awareness.

               

     The “shared life” is essentially what it sounds like: “living together” (p. 196). Presence in someone else’s world is important for friendship, as relationships tend to die when they are distant. How can we share lives online, though? The definition would need to change somewhat. Because of social media’s usefulness in maintaining friendships (as opposed to creating new ones), social interaction online could be seen as a way of stretching out a shared life. Social media can also facilitate a shared life, by providing a platform for organizing face-to-face events.

                

     This is a more complex and larger issue than Vallor can capture in this snapshot, and she emphasizes that it is important to contextualize social media (and not reify it) in the larger culture we live in today. However, she has concerns that the shallowness of communication as a whole in modern life constitutes a negative impact on our development of virtuous friendships. She ends the piece with a call to ethicists and philosophers to take a closer look at the issue.

My conclusions: Based on how Vallor describes Aristotle’s vision of a complete friendship, I think that (as she does note) they would be rare regardless of social media’s effect. However, from personal experience, some very deep and true friendships can develop online. I do not think that social media is a barrier to such connection, but I do agree that there are some comfortable rituals that wear away at true empathy and real engagement. Facebook’s birthday notifications are endemic of the empty rituals we engage in online. A quick “happy birthday!” and done. Rarely do I put forth more effort than that, and sometimes I see them and don’t even bother. However, I cannot help but think that this sort of shallow reciprocity is endemic “IRL” as well, with acquaintances, coworkers, and the like.

                

     Aristotles’s virtue ethics is interesting to me – I know very little about it, I am just a beginner! I would be interested in an anthropological study exploring cultural conceptions of friendship in the framework of his ideas, if anyone could reciprocate kindly and throw me a link or citation, I would enjoy that.

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