Everything we use or consume regularly has an incredibly powerful impact on our lives.  Some of these things we simply take for granted or see as essential, which lets them form part of the framework of daily living rather than be appreciated as accessories or novelties (e.g. coffee, email, cell–phones, etc.).  These things either have significance each time they sit in front of us or in our hands, as the case may be, but at the very least they impose a cumulative consequence on our bodies and our identities.  Quietly, they carry out a revolution.

We constantly remind ourselves of the advantages that come from these items.  Smartphones let us work from anywhere.  Coffee keeps us alert even though our kids took turns waking up their parents all night.  And so on.  But, occasionally, events occur that make us pause to consider their larger impact, including the harm they may be causing us. Email makes it easier to keep in touch with family, but have we lost something by speaking to them less?  Does facebook let us have more “friends” but fewer meaningful relationships that can be relied on to add substance to our lives?  Does the internet give us access to more information but make it more difficult to learn and retain new knowledge?  Does coffee make us more productive but less relaxed?  What exactly are we losing in exchange for what we’ve gained?

The rates of use of social media, like facebook, are astounding, particularly among children.  These sites have imposed a fundamentally unique social context to their upbringings, which is entirely different from what their parents and grandparents had to deal with.  Here are some of the hallmarks of this new reality:

  • Personal branding has become a major concern and, more significantly, requires a considerable logistical investment.  Your image isn’t confined to the clothes you wear on a given day, what you say in class or, generally, what you do.  How others see you is largely determined by how you appear on the virtual playground – that is, your status updates, your wall, etc. and the other personalized bells and whistles on social media sites.  These sites hand each child a megaphone to project themselves, and because of social pressures they can’t use it in a neutral way.
  • Images are everywhere and are easily reproduced and transmitted.  I remember the worst thing a friend could do was record a conversation without telling you and catch you saying embarrassing things.  Now at any moment anyone can take a picture of you and have a copy of it in front of hundreds of your classmates and friends in a matter of seconds.

It’s obvious that these raise social, and perhaps psychological, questions about the effects of these factors on children.  But they also raise legal questions.  Widespread social phenomona like this one can create a legal reality that should be addressed. 

What sparked this concern in me this week was news over the weekend about a gang rape in Pitt Meadows last Saturday night, photos of which were posted on facebook.  Here is an excerpt from a report by the Vancouver Sun:

[A] 16-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday for photographing the assault and uploading the photos to Facebook. He is expected to face charges of distributing child pornography but those charges have not yet been laid. Photographs of the girl’s assault were shared on Facebook and are “spreading like wildfire” on the Internet according to police.

At a news conference in Maple Ridge on Friday, Lench said police have been in touch with Facebook about keeping the photos off its system and are also working with the Ministry of Education to prevent the spreading of the photos on school computers.

 Lench said police believe the message is getting out that possession of the photos is a crime — possession of child pornography — and parents are pressuring their kids to stop sending the photos around.

I am not arguing that facebook is the cause of gang rape or anything like that, but it is definitely a tool that has been used in this instance to facilitate a crime.  Here is another article in the Sun discussing the challenges being faced by police to prevent re-victimization by distribution of the photos. 
 
Janet Steffenhagen of the Vancouver Sun reported on her blog this morning that Vancouver trustee Mike Lombardi has urged schools to teach students about the proper use of social media:
“One of the initial reactions of the educational community was to pretend social media doesn’t exist and ignore it,” Lombardi said. “Schools can’t do that any more.”
The issues surrounding this event should be studied from a legal perspective, not simply social or psychological ones, to determine what role, if any, can be played by the law.  Encouraging a policy on social media in schools, as Lombardi suggests, is one step forward, but we will need to continue to seek innovative measures to address this.
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