A Discover of Truth

A Marketplace of Ideas

In our current age of social media and digital dominance, the world has never been more connected. Every day people are making connections from all around the world. One of the consequences of all this is the exposure to other cultures and ideas. Even people from some of the most secluded/tightly-knit groups can learn more about the outside world through the internet. However just because people can now find these new ideas doesn't mean that every encounter is welcomed. In some cases, new ideas and knowledge are actually rejected and mocked. Simply belonging or identifying with a group’s beliefs or identity can earn you great negative attention. To reduce this social media will tailor content seen by users to fit their specific interests. Which ultimately reduces them into sets of groups.

John Milton suggested this idea known as the marketplace of ideas being vital to every society an individual's journey in discovering the truth. The marketplace of ideas was essentially this concept that all ideas police should be able to be presented to everyone with no restriction. From there each individual from the variety of ideas would pick and choose Concepts and beliefs that worked best for them. Some may even pick up an idea or concept experiment with it only to eventually return it as it does not suit them. Eventually, through being exposed to all different ideas each individual eventually grows enough to discover what truth is for them. Or simply put in order to find one's identity and understanding of the world one must expose themselves to new ideas and concepts even when they are not necessarily positive. You can still learn from the negative. Milton was essentially encouraging a society that allows its people to think freely for themselves without the government's/society restricting the ways in which I could think. 

So here lies a question, is it wrong when an organization or people decide to censor and limit the exposure of these ideas?

One example to look at is Youtube’s monetization policy. In recent years Youtube updated its policy on what types of topics or content can be monetized by users. One controversial issue is any content made about the LGBT+ community will automatically mean a video can not be monetized. Youtube cites this being a ‘controversial’ topic and is material considered unsuitable for children under the age of 13 years old. Creators have expressed whelming disapproval over this decision as the platform has a good amount of creators who are LGBT. Although users may still post these videos, creators are frustrated with the change as Youtube has censored their content and some cases their brands/identities. 

When I was around 12 years old (2010) the song Tik Tok by Kesha had become extremely popular. one of my friends at the time show me a funny parody and we laughed so much and thought it was so great that my friend quickly logged into her Facebook. With no context she just literally wrote down her favorite lyrics and with a click it was there on her wall for everyone to see. That was one of the first distinctive moments in my life that I felt like I was missing out. I remember later that day when I was picked up by my mom I asked her when I could get a Facebook. Several of my friends and classmates at that point had made an account so I thought my mom would be more than okay with me making one. Instead my mom showed great concern and told me I was going to have to wait until I was 16 to make an account. She was terrified of all the horror stories in the news and was convinced somehow I would cyber-bullied. 

So I waited….until that summer when my closest friends were playing Farmville and asking if I could send them supplies. In one of greatest acts of rebellion I made an account, using a throwaway email and I gave myself a fake name. I told all my friends in person or via call my account name and asked them to friend back asap. The best part out of all this? I was the only person in my family with a Facebook at the time. 

10 years later, my account name is mine, my parents and I are friends on Facebook. However I almost never nowadays open my Facebook. It the one social media account I have and barely use. Today I have account on about 10 different sites/apps, I’ve even watched a few social medias live and die (Google+ and Vine). With being online for 10 years now and having several accounts I should have a big footprint. However I have managed to keep my posting on almost all these accounts to a minimum, and in some cases my name isn’t public. I even hide what I like on accounts that make it public. 

At this point in my life I ever post important or major life events. The last post I made on my Instagram were photos of my trip to Italy and I didn’t even post all of the photos I took. Nowadays I use social media to keep up with news, friends/family, and to browse the content of each site. With keeping a low profile online I haven’t had to worry as much as some of my friends have with what they’ve posted online. There’s enough about me to give strangers an idea but not enough to have a total look at my life as they would with a lot of people my age. I do every now and again feel as if I am missing out as I view most of my friends posting frequently.