life & style // 14 10:50 PM Cance Update Status GTFOMN! i 9 oo 1}2)3)4)6/6)7/8]9/ 0% Eats ditt) having a party. That bitch can $& @" theotherpress.ca 7 = Post 4 4) retun A student handles peer rejection like a mature adult // By Joel McCarthy Facebook Files: self-censorship and social media » Facebook Files: self-censorship and social media Sophie Isbister Life & Style Editor Milifeandstyle @theotherpress.ca ha always assumed that people were second-guessing their status updates and comments on Facebook—and then the social media giant confirmed last month that yes, people self-censor, and yes, Facebook has access to this unsent information. Slate.com reported in December that Facebook published a “study of the self- censorship behavior collected from 5-million English- speaking Facebook users,” using data collected from information : understand them, in order to : build a system that minimizes that Facebook gets from your : browser. They don’t know what : you write, but they do know : that an alarming (to them) : number of people are typing : stuff, then deleting before they : hit send. But why does Facebook even care about what we choose : not to share? Because as with : any free, mainly ad-funded : social media site, when you : use Facebook you are not the : consumer but the product. : Slate.com’s Jennifer Golbeck : elaborates: “Facebook considers : your thoughtful discretion : about what to post as bad, : because it withholds value : from Facebook and from other : users. Facebook monitors those unposted thoughts to better : this deliberate behavior.” : Facebook doesn’t want you to : hold anything back, because : what you post creates valuable : clicks for them. Because I spend a lot of time thinking about social : media in general and Facebook : in particular, I already have a : few reasons up my sleeve for : why people would avoid saying : things. For one, it’s Facebook’s : share-everything-you-do : model. The model itself breeds : self-censorship and shuts down : discourse. For example, I occasionally : see posts on my newsfeed : that I would really rather not see—often, this isn’t because : someone has shared it, it’s : because they have commented on it. I can usually take it on : good authority that a friend of : mine would be commenting on : offensive or disturbing content : merely to take a stand against : such content, but that doesn’t: : change the fact that due to how : : Facebook works, the mere act of ! : interacting with a post further : disseminates it. So, people who want to take offence to a particular post : must wrestle withadilemma: : speak out against the offending : : content while knowing that : you will be exposing a good : ; percentage of your friend group : : to said content, or just let it slide and go unchecked. I think it’s important to : show a little self-censorship : in social media. After all, now : everyone from Aunt Mildred to second-cousin Susan is on the : website, sending you invites : to Candy Crush Saga and : posting photos of their holiday : centrepieces. It’s more crucial : than ever, as we see generations growing up with Facebook in their lives from day one, that : we teach ourselves that online : communication is as public and : lasting as communication can : get. Facebook does indeed create an atmosphere where people self-censor, but likely : no more so than the amount people would self-censor if they : were screaming in a crowded : mall or classroom. So, while Facebook says keep the posts : free-flowing, I say clam upa : bit. Nobody wants to be friends with an Olivia Overshare!