Haunted by Facebook: The Smoking Baby!

A very old saying goes along this line: “Every coin has two sides“.

Although I don’t entirely agree that this applies all the time, I must admit that I have faith in its meaning on more than one level and that it does really apply in many different situations. The argument of this post is definitely listed under those situations!

Social Media: Into Play

Since the emergence of social media, its tools, sites, ideas and influences, many things have changed such as:

• The way people interact with each other.
• The loose approach towards privacy.
• The amount of information we share.
• The way people handle their own personal feelings.
• The reactions of people towards different crisis, problems or even causes.

In return, these newly adopted trends have created a gray area for wrong and right thus influencing our abilities to make well-studied, worthwhile judgments and, consequently, decisions as well!

Facebook: At the Top of the Target List

'Smoking' baby Facebook picture via DailyMail-UK

Within an article entitled “Smoking” baby Facebook picture sparks investigation… ” I quote the following text: “A teenage mother was investigated by police after photographs of her six-month-old son with a cigarette in his mouth were posted on Facebook. Rebecca Davey, 18, was reported by online friends who spotted the picture of baby Ollie. It showed the tot in a striped babygro, with the unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth“.

Somehow, the idea of child protection, even from accusations such as those above, seems rather reassuring and gives a somewhat “pseudo” sense of security: You are being watched all the time? Whatever you do, someone, somewhere is watching. Be careful of what you do and say, all the time!

However, the questions here remains to be as follows: Is this really something we should be happy about? Do we really want to be watched 24/7? Do we want to be judged by our every move?

Human Rights: A Cardinal Joke!

Maybe, just maybe, we are all seeking to be shielded from crime, in one way or another. Maybe we all want to have someone out there watching out for our safety and our children’s valuable lives. But what about our rights as human beings? What about Article 12 from the Human Rights Declaration? Are those rights we fight for every single day and protest for every now and then of no value anymore? I think, after reading the post above, they are not!

Human Rights First!

When I think about it, this woman, this mother, was unlawfully harassed by the police due to a picture she posted! She was humiliated and further deprived of her privacy just because her Facebook profile picture suggested that she might have been allowing her “little baby” to smoke! – Please take into account all those other pictures you find online of babies with booze and cigarettes or even weed!

I am sure afraid of what is to come! Will the police start arresting and interrogating people based on where their profile pictures suggest they might have been? Is some redness from eye irritation going to be considered a crime due to its other meanings?

A Brief Wrap Up…

All this talk about privacy concerns mixed with cries for human rights must be really taken into consideration when using social media. I have learned so much from my use of Mixx, Twitter, Facebook and other channels but one must always weigh the positives against the negatives!

Finally, and since I place a great value on all of our readers’ thoughts and feedback, I urge you to share your opinions with me about this subject. Maybe, just maybe, someone out there will listen!

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