The Texas school shootings focus on the disturbing aspects of privacy versus security and the ethical responsibilities of social media companies in an age of instant messages and borderless communication.
Texas school shooter Salvador Ramos was in contact with a German teenager via social media and revealed disturbing aspects of his personality even before the incident. Ramos is said to have used social media extensively before threatening sexual violence and school shootings. His messages about “throwing dead cats over people’s homes”, informing the teen about ammunition he had bought the day before the shooting, and shooting his own grandmother a day later, were many. level questions.
At one level there is the problematic issue of social media addiction among influential pre-teens and adolescents and the responsibility of stakeholder groups belonging to this age group. Social media use and the ‘likes’ and comments generated by posts have been shown to affect the brain in the same way that good food, sex and drug abuse induce the release of dopamine. Over time, this is almost as if a dopamine treadmill is generated, more of which is released to keep the user in the same position as before.
Experts also refer to an associated dopamine deficit syndrome, where a massive upward deviation is followed by an equal or greater deviation downward, pushing dopamine below the baseline and making the individual unhappy. This externalized social media-induced mental view is responsible for many mental health issues, especially among adolescents. Several studies have confirmed the adverse effects of social media in this age group by causing depression, anxiety, aggression and antisocial behavior, in addition to an increased association with suicide risk.
The Texas shooter, himself a teenager, has a history of bullying and bullying at the school he chose to attack. He is said to have had a “minor” argument with his own grandmother over paying the phone bill before he was shot. He then went on to brag about his “achievement” in a private message to the German teenager, also indicating that he was ready to perpetrate the school shooting. His prior public postings were equally candid and yet not taken seriously. One can only imagine how many emotional scars the German teen interacting with the shooter can carry for life.
The question arises: could it have been prevented? Schools and colleges play an important role in shaping the youth. There needs to be strict norms against bullying and ragging in any form, using trained professionals in educational institutions who can identify and counsel children with mental health issues. They should also invest in training pre-teens and teens to recognize disturbing social media behavior. The youth have to learn what, when and to whom to report in such cases.
The Texas shootings and social media posts reminded me of the situation when a student at an institution where I taught posted 52 posts on social media indicating that he was contemplating suicide. While his classmates dismissed this as another example of his attention-seeking behavior, a cautious student brought it to our attention and sought institutional help.
The Texas shooting raises serious questions about the ethical responsibilities of social media and digital platform firms such as Facebook, Instagram, Yubo, Apple, Google, etc., while the role of Facebook in pre-empting and bringing direct messages sent by shooters to authorities. Arguing to the attention of the U.S., news is that its parent company, Meta, is planning to introduce end-to-end encryption for the messaging systems of Facebook and Instagram next year. This would make it impossible to decipher messages that threaten human life and national security, even if they enhance consumer privacy.
Platform companies enjoy significant network effects and have the power to monetize such effects through large advertising revenues. Such revenue has put such firms in the limelight for the wrong reasons and consequently there has been a demand for their monitoring and regulation. For example, Apple’s end-to-end encryption on its iPhone ran into problems with the US Department of Justice when it was asked for the backdoor of a handset confiscated from an alleged terrorist.
However, social media companies have a distorted interest in keeping people engaged on their platforms for longer periods of time. In 2021, Meta generated $114.9 billion in advertising revenue, a 36.5% increase from the previous year. More than 97.9% of Facebook’s global revenue was from ads, which explains its importance to Meta.
Yes, US gun laws need debate. However, educational institutions and social media companies are equally involved in the horrific tragedy that ravaged young lives. It is time for platform companies to focus on sustainability of business models that exploit the addictive nature of such platforms for narrow business interests, especially among influential minds. Also, educational institutions need to make student communities more strong, responsible and accountable. The Texas school shooting is a wake-up call to society in general, not just the legal authority in one US state.
Tulsi Jayakumar is Professor of Economics and Executive Director, Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship, SPJIMR of Bhavan