“Fridays Are Racist”: Evaluating Social Media Engagement From a Virtue Ethics Framework

View Sample PDF

Author(s): Lana Medina (Penn State University, USA)
Copyright: 2024
Volume: 15
Issue: 1
Pages: 19
Source title: International Journal of Technoethics (IJT)
Editor(s)-in-Chief: Steven Umbrello (Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, University of Turin, Italy)
DOI: 10.4018/IJT.344025

Keywords: Information Ethics / Information Science Reference / IT Security and Ethics / Security & Forensics

Purchase

View on the publisher's website for pricing and purchasing information.

Abstract

Social media platforms have become a threat to democracy and human flourishing. Critics have previously expressed alarm that our ever-increasing technological habits are negatively influencing human values and virtues. This research explores how the engagement design of social media sites is a morally questionable metric for social media ‘success'. Using a virtue ethics framework in relation to technology ethics research, as well as drawing from the work of Ellul (1962) and technology philosophers, this paper emphasizes the need for perspective and civility in engagement and argues for solutions that withdraw from an engagement design built on efficiency and financial gain. Proposed solutions include global change in the form of 1) altered weights for algorithmic prioritization (e.g., promoting diverse topics and reducing tribalist engagement), 2) returning autonomy to users (compared to corporate control), and 3) global legislation (i.e., the European Union's DSA).

The IRMA Community

Research IRM

“Fridays Are Racist”: Evaluating Social Media Engagement From a Virtue Ethics Framework

Purchase

Abstract

Related Content

IRMA Sponsors