Social Media Threats

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Along with school shootings, social media threats are starting to become a common occurrence this year. As shown in this article, threats towards schools on social media are even occurring close to my hometown. Threats like these have been causing schools across the country to panic. It is hard to be sure if these threats are truly dangerous or if they are only a prank. Either way, schools do not wish to take the risk.

School shootings are tragic, and it is sad how there has been so many within two months of the new year. Social media threats have always existed, but what caused their sudden rise? I begin to wonder if the rise in school shootings is the cause for this.

I personally think it is odd how after the rise in school shootings came the rise of social media threats. Therefore, I come to believe these threats arose because of the attention of school shootings. I do not believe most of these social media threats are real. In my opinion, students post these threats to social media to cause panic or simply cancel school. Of course, there is always the chance the threats are real, so schools cannot simply overlook them.

With the rise of school shootings, it is the schools’ best decision to take the threats seriously. On the other hand, how long can schools shut down to avoid tragic events? Whether the threats are real or pranks, schools are being hurt emotionally and academically. The fear will never fully pass, but when will it subside?

All in all, this current issue shows the power of social media. One post implying a threat can cause panic across communities or the nation. Social media can be good for many reasons. Sadly, one of these reasons is to provoke fear in others.

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 26, 2018 at 7:47 PM

    This is an unbelievably scary world we live in. The generation before us did not have to deal with these situations. Our generation and the ones after us are in uncharted territory with social media. While a lot of good can come out of it, there is now an ever-emerging threat being cast through it. I believe we will soon figure out solutions to these problems and choose appropriate courses when dealing with it. I am not sure they will be simple or easy, but I would not trust it very much if it was.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownMarch 1, 2018 at 3:42 PM

    Crystal,

    I agree that social media's power has most certainly been brought to light due to it's recent involvement in school shootings and other tragedies. Back home in Pittsburgh, there was even a case where an actual murder was broadcast on Facebook live. There was another example where a bomb threat was called into my old high school over social media. Like all sources of communication there are good ways and awful ways to use it. Hopefully we can see more of the good aspects of social media use in the times to come.

    ReplyDelete

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