Q12. You hold a responsible position in a ministry in the government. One day in the morning you received a call from the school of your 11-year-old son that you are required to come and meet the Principal. You proceed to the school and find your son in the Principal’s office. The Principal informs you that your son had been found wandering aimlessly in the grounds during the time classes were in progress. The class teacher further informs you that your son has lately become a loner and did not respond to questions in the class. He had also been unable to perform well in the football trials held recently. You bring your son back from the school and in the evening, you along with your wife try to find out the reasons for your son’s changed behaviour. After repeated cajoling, your son shares that some children had been making fun of him in the class as well as in the WhatsApp group of the students by calling him stunted, duh and a frog. He tells you the names of a few children who are the main culprits but pleads with you to let the matter rest.

After a few days, during a sporting event, where you and your wife have gone to watch your son play, one of your colleague’s son shows you a video in which students have caricatured your son. Further, he also points out to the perpetrators who were sitting in the stands. You purposefully walk past them with your son and go home. Next day, you find on social media, a video denigrating you, your son and even your wife, stating that you engaged in physical bullying of children on the sports field. The video became viral on social media. Your friends and colleagues began calling you to find out the details. One of your juniors advised you to make a counter video giving the background and explaining that nothing had happened on the field. You, in turn posted a video which you have captured during the sporting event, identifying the likely perpetrators who were responsible for your son’s predicament. You have also narrated what has actually happened in the field and made attempts to bring out the adverse effects of the misuse of social media.

(a)     Based on the above case study, discuss the ethical issues involved in the use of social media.

(b)    Discuss the pros and cons of using social media by you to put across the facts to counter the fake propaganda against your family.

Answer

Stakeholders: You, Your son, Children bullying son, School administration, Social Media

(a) Ethical Issues Involved

1. Fake News: Social media is used extensively nowadays to spread fake news hurtingreputation of individuals.

2. Cyberbullying and Harassment: The children are using social media to bully the child causing tremendous emotional distress to him.

3. Privacy: Publishing and circulating videos of people without their consent violate the privacy of the individuals.  

4. Accountability: It is difficult to know the source of misinformation and act against the perpetrators.  Social media companies must take responsibility of tracing the culprits and governments must act against such perpetrators.

(b) Pros and Cons of Using Social Media to Counter Fake Propaganda

Pros

·         The users will know the complete truth and see through fake propaganda

·         The children harassing the son are exposed forcing parents and school administration to act against them.

·         Your child is satisfied that you took all possible actions to protect him.

Cons

·         The mischievous children may boycott your son and pose another video to defame him.

·         The school administration may take action against you for defaming other children

·         Parents of mischievous children may become hostile to you and take retaliatory actions.

Appropriate Action

You can talk to the children and their parents not to do such things in future. Then the matter may be reported to the school administration for the appropriate action. The child may also be asked to change his behaviour, if required. If nothing works, the matter may be reported to the police for taking action against the school administration and the children. (260 words)

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