Article for Prelims Examination

Faulty and Excessive Disclosure of Information in the Media

            In the advent of technology, communication travels faster than a speeding bullet. Media, whether print, social or electronic, is the primary source of information in today’s society. Communication and technology go hand in hand in making the sender-message-receiver process easier and more convenient.

But on the contrary to the advantages the media has been rendering to humanity for centuries, an unpromising scenario relative to imparting information is becoming common in the society today. Unfortunate events are happening in the modern times because of an unexpected culprit – the media. It might not be evident, but the well-known channel of information is a tool for mishaps and incidents.

Stalk Me Not

Carla* is an avid user of Facebook and Twitter. She updates her accounts everyday, spending an average of 6 to 8 hours a day. She meets both new and old acquaintances via the networking sites and posts her address and contact numbers on her site.

She met Simon* on Facebook and eventually, they become good and close chat mates. Their intimacy grew to the extent that their friendship could possibly move on to the next level - that is, a romantic relationship. However, Carla was not interested and deleted Simon from her friend’s list. The following week, Simon showed up at her house and threatened her life.

According to a study released last January of 2010, more than half of adults 45 and older who are on social networking sites like Facebook could be in danger of becoming victims of identity theft, stalking and other crimes because of sharing too much private information. If the older generation is susceptible to this kind of danger, the youth is even more vulnerable to it. More and more teenagers are becoming victims of Facebook stalking and online deception. 

*not real name

Accessory to Crime

            Last August 23, 2010, the whole world was stricken by the Quirino Grandstand Hostage crisis. A dismissed Philippine National Police Officer, former senior inspector Rolando Mendoza, took over a tour bus carrying 25 people (20 tourists and a tour guide, all from Hong Kong, and 4  Filipinos) in an attempt to get his job back. After nearly 12 excruciating hours, the tragedy resulted to 9 fatalities, including the hostage taker.

              Many experts and viewers who saw the ending of the tragedy live on television were appalled by what they saw. Charles Shoebridge, a security analyst who has worked in counter-terrorism with the British Army and Scotland Yard, said that the officers of the SWAT team involved showed great courage but they were not properly trained or equipped for the task. But one big factor that contributed to the failure of the bus siege was the televised updates and proceedings. Mendoza was able to follow the events via the television in the bus, revealing everything that is happening around him. The media disclosed too much information – information that has lead to the death of 8 innocent tourists.

Ruining the Democracy

            Even US President Barack Obama believed that technology and media can be a lethal combination. He said in a commencement address at Hampton University in Virginia last May, “You’re coming of age in a 24/7 media environment that bombards us with all kinds of content and exposes us to all kinds of arguments, some of which don’t always rank all that high on the truth meter,” 

“With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation,” Obama said.

            He lamented on the fact that “some of the craziest claims can quickly claim traction,” in the rumpus of certain blogs and talk radio outlets.

“All of this is not only putting new pressures on you, it is putting new pressures on our country and on our democracy.”

Summing Everything Up

            People today live in a world filled with the social media craze. From Facebook to Twitter, the world has embraced the new and improved tools that help thousands interact each day no matter how far they are from each other. There are two sides to every pancake – the same goes for Media. It may present the people with a handful of advantages but all those may bring a couple of disadvantages along with them. All good things have flaws and indubitably, it is inevitable.