Social media allows its users to share information about themselves, others, products, companies, the world...you get the picture. It is a great tool to use both professionally and personally. Yet, how does it affect that all too-often occuring phenomenon of stealing content/intellectual property/ etc.
While I certainly do not advocate a position that says social media causes this problem, I do think it exacerbates it and makes it public. Photo and video sharing sites like Flickr, YouTube, and even Facebook make it easy for those who wish to steal to do so. Although I think most people would agree that creators should receive credit and payment from their inventions/products, sadly, the temptation to "have it all" by free and illegal downloading proves to be too strong. Some argue that it isn't really stealing or that creators don't really care. They, themselves, feel they are being cheated by the purchase fee. Since this is a rampant problem, is there even any way to curtail it? There are copyright laws, but we all know that only a fraction of offenders are caught. There is not enough manpower to patrol and prosecute every single case. How effective would an inti-stealing campaign be? I wish I had an answer to this question, but am still new to the scene of social media, and though I am thinking through all these issues, I have no conclusive answer at present.
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