Social Media Apps and Our Ethical Charter
Social media platforms have proven their effectiveness over the past decade. They have shortened the distances between the public and those in authority, strengthened people's awareness of events and developments, and opened the way for communicating with various institutions, experts, specialists and talented people across all fields. But with all this momentum of communication comes our responsibility to abide by rules and ethics that protect us from the evils of these media and preserve the cohesion of our nations and communities, which I summarize in the following lines:
Let the Rumor Stop With You
Rumors are a source of strife and discord, and confronting them is the duty of every one of us, by verifying any information we receive and not accepting it except from the competent authorities. When a baseless rumor reaches you, let it stop with you, for this fundamentally helps to curb rumors.
Do Not Be a Partner in an Abusive Quarrel
Do not allow someone to lure you into a quarrel about a person or an issue, no matter how much the subject seems to incite participation, for these provocative comments you may come across are nothing but traps that some people exploit to open the door to defamation, insults and intrigues. Awareness, knowledge and respect for all parties are the foundation of participating on social media, and this is what spares you the consequence of becoming a partner in harming a person or an entity.
Think Twice Before You Send Something You Might Regret
One of the drawbacks of the internet is that it is difficult, or nearly impossible, to remove written, visual or audio content from it. So think a hundred times before you send anything you would be ashamed to share in public, even through private messages on Twitter, Instagram or even Snapchat, for all of them can be saved and published, and this is a serious matter. Remember that much will live on for a long time in the memory of society, even if we suppose, for the sake of argument, that you managed to remove it from the internet.
Beware of Fake Accounts
Today we live with a real challenge in the form of electronic flies (trolls) who use fake accounts belonging to individuals and organizations for the purposes of sowing strife and chaos and aggravating problems. Some of them claim to be a famous figure, a wealthy benefactor, or a poor person in distress, so do not be drawn in by these emotional appeals, for their sole purpose is to entrap you, deceive you, and exploit you intellectually or financially.
Stay Away From Third-Party Apps
The app store is teeming with many of them, and many of us subscribe in good faith to third-party apps of unknown origin. These apps ask you to grant them permissions such as opening your camera or microphone, or accessing your accounts and passwords on social media, sometimes to post on your behalf as an assisting intermediary. But these apps, made by individuals or organizations, may use your confidential information in studies without your permission, or for purposes you know nothing about, and you may never know!
Al Roeya Emirati newspaper
