Ethics in Information

Technology
Chapter 9
Social Media
George W. Reynolds

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or
service or otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use. 1
 Learning Objectives
• How do individuals use social networks,
and what are some practical business
uses of social networking and other
social media tools?
• What are some of the key ethical issues
associated with the use of social
networks and other social media?

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 What is Social Media?
• Social media: Web-based communication tools that
enable people to interact in online communities where
they can share ideas, messages, images, audio, and video
• Common features: User accounts, profile pages, friends
or followers, event pages, news feeds, media-sharing features,
like buttons, and comments sections
• Types: Blogs, discussion forums, media-sharing networks,
wikis, social messaging apps, social networking sites, and
social shopping platforms
• Social networking platform: Creates an online
community of Internet users that breaks down barriers
created by time, distance, and cultural differences

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 3
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
Popular Social Networking
Platforms
Social Networking Unique Monthly
Platform Visitors (Millions)
Facebook 1,100
YouTube 1,000
Twitter 310
LinkedIn 255
Pinterest 250
Google Plus+ 120
Tumblr 110
Instagram 100
Reddit 85

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 4
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Social Media Marketing, Part 1
• Social network marketing: The use of social networks
to communicate and promote the benefits of products
and services
• 37% of consumers say they use social media to
find out about products and services
• Two primary objectives of social media marketers:
• Raise brand awareness
• Drive traffic to a website to increase sales
• Global social media marketing spending nearly
doubled from 2014 to 2016, increasing from
$16 billion to $31 billion
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 5
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Social Media Marketing, Part 2
• Advantages of social media marketing:
• Marketers can create an opportunity to generate a
conversation with viewers of the message
• Messages can be targeted to reach a specific
demographic group
• Organic media marketing: Employs tools tailored for a
particular social media platform to build a social
community and interact with it
• Viral marketing: An approach to social media marketing
that encourages individuals to pass along a marketing
message to others

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 6
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Paid Media Marketing
• Paid media marketing: Involves paying a third party to
broadcast an organization’s display ads or sponsored
messages to social media users
• Can be targeted to specific demographic groups on
a social network
• Two common methods of charging for paid media:
• Cost per thousand impressions (CPM): Billed at a flat rate
per 1,000 impressions (a measure of the number of times
an ad is displayed)—whether or not it was clicked
• Cost per click: Billed on a per click basis; no charge when
an ad is displayed but not clicked on

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 7
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Earned Media

• Earned media: Refers to the media exposure an

organization gets through press and social media
mentions, positive online ratings and reviews, tweets
and retweets, and reposts (or “shares”)
• Volume of earned media is a factor in determining how
high an organization ranks in Google’s search engine

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 8
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Social Media in the Hiring
Process
• Employers look at the social media profiles of job
candidates when hiring
• Companies may reject candidates who post:
• Information about their drinking or drug use
• Provocative or inappropriate photos
• Discriminatory remarks relating to race, gender,
or religion
• Confidential information
• Job-seeking candidates should review their presence
on social media
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 9
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Improving Customer Service Using
Social Media

• Consumers use social networks to:

• Share their experiences, both good and bad, with others
• Seek advice on how to use products more effectively
• Unless organizations monitor social media, customers
may be left to resolve questions and issues on their own,
which can lead to a loss of customers and future sales

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 10
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Social Shopping Platforms
• Social shopping platforms: Combine two highly popular
online activities—shopping and social networking
• Shoppers and sellers share information and make
recommendations
• Revenue is generated through:
• Retailer advertising
• Sharing data about their members’ likes and dislikes
with retailers
• Popular social shopping platforms:
• Fancy, MyDeco, Pinterest, Polyvore, and Wanelo

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 11
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Social Networking Ethical
Issues
• Cyberabuse: Any form of mistreatment, both physical and
mental, based on the use of an electronic communications
device, that causes harm and distress to others
• Cyberbullying: A form of cyberabuse in which the abusive
behavior is humiliating, hurtful, intimidating, malicious,
or otherwise offensive to an individual or group of
individual and causes substantial emotional distress
• Cyberstalking: A form of cyberabuse that consists of a
long-term pattern of unwanted, persistent pursuit and
intrusive behavior that is directed by one person against
another and that causes fear and distress in the victim

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 12
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Tips for Avoiding Cyberabuse
• Tips to help you avoid becoming a victim of cyberabuse:
• Use a strong, unique password for each social media site.
• If you break up with an intimate partner, reset the
passwords on all of your accounts.
• Check your privacy settings.
• Ask friends not to post personal information about you.
• Don’t post photos of your home that indicate its location.
• Avoid posting information about your current or future
locations/activities.
• Do not accept “friend requests” from strangers.
• Avoid online surveys that ask for personal information.

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 13
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Organizations That Offer Information
Resources Related to Cyberabuse

• The National Center for Victims of Crime

- Offers a detailed set of recommended actions to
combat cyberstalking
• Association for Progressive Communications
• FightCyberstalking
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
• Working to Halt Online Abuse
• Stalking Risk Profile

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 14
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Encounters with Sexual
Predators
• Some social networking platforms, law enforcement, and
the courts have been criticized for not protecting minors
from sexual predators
• The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and
Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act set initial
requirements for sex offender registration and notification
• Required sex offenders to register their residence with
local law enforcement agencies
• The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Provisions
(SORNA) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety
Act of 2006 set national standards that govern which sex
offenders must register and what data must be captured
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 15
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Uploading of Inappropriate
Material
• Most social media sites have terms of use agreements and
policies that give them the right to delete inappropriate
material and terminate user accounts
• Limits on content that is sexually explicit, defamatory,
hateful, violent, or that promotes illegal activity
• Revenge porn: Intimate photos/videos posted online without
the permission of the person shown; often uploaded by
ex-partners with an intent to shame and/or harass their
former partner
• Most sites do not have sufficient resources to review all
material posted.

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 16
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Employee Participation on
Social Media Networks

• The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects

the right of freedom of expression from government
interference but does not prohibit free speech
interference by private employers.
• Approx. 18% of private employers surveyed have
dismissed employees because of a social media post
• Organizations should put in place a social media policy
to avoid legal issues and set clear guidelines and
expectations for employees.

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 17
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Additional Social Media Issues

• The risk of being involved in an accident is eight times

higher if you are texting or using social media while
driving.
• Social media platforms enable a degree of self-image
manipulation both in terms of physical appearance
and overall quality of life.

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 18
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 1
• How do individuals use social networks, and what are
some practical business uses of social networking and
other social media tools?
• Social media: Web-based communication tools that
enable people to interact in online communities by
sharing ideas, information, images, audio, and video
• Social networking platform: Creates an online community
of Internet users that enables members to break down
barriers created by time, distance, and cultural
differences
• The number of Internet users worldwide is approaching
4 billion.

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 19
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 2
• How do individuals use social networks, and what are
some practical business uses of social networking and
other social media tools?
• Organizations use social media to advertise, identify job
candidates, improve customer service, connect with
suppliers, and sell products and services.
• Social media marketing: The use of social media to
promote products and services
- Advantages:
• Create a conversation with viewers of the message
•Target ads at specific demographic groups
- Objectives:
• Raise brand awareness
• Drive traffic to a website to increase sales
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 20
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 3
• How do individuals use social networks, and what are
some practical business uses of social networking and
other social media tools?
• Organic media marketing: The use of tools tailored for a
particular social media platform to build a social
community and interact with it
• Paid media marketing: Paying a third party to broadcast
an organization’s display ads or sponsored messages to
social media users
- Cost per thousand impressions and cost per click
• Earned media: Media exposure gained through press and
social media mentions, positive reviews, tweets and
retweets, and reposts (or “shares”)
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 21
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 4
• How do individuals use social networks, and what are
some practical business uses of social networking and
other social media tools?
• Viral marketing: An approach to social media marketing
that encourages individuals to pass along a marketing
message
• Approx. 60% of employers have used social media to
research job candidates
• Employers can legally reject a job applicant based on the
person’s social media activity as long as the company does
not violate discrimination laws.
• Job seeking candidates should review their presence on
social media.
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 22
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 5
• How do individuals use social networks, and what are
some practical business uses of social networking and
other social media tools?
• Consumers use social networks to share their experiences,
both good and bad, with others.
• Many organizations actively monitor social media to
improve customer service, retain customers, and
increase sales.
• Social shopping platform: Brings shoppers and sellers
together; members share information and make
recommendations while shopping online

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 23
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 6
• What are some of the key ethical issues associated with
the use of social networks and other social media?
• Cyberabuse: Any form of mistreatment that uses an
electronic communications device to cause harm and
distress to others
- Cyberharassment: Abusive behavior that is humiliating,
intimidating, hurtful, malicious, or otherwise offensive to an
individual or group of individuals
- Cyberstalking: A long-term pattern of unwanted persistent
pursuit and intrusive behavior directed by one person against
another that causes fear and distress in the victim
• Nearly three-quarters of U.S. Internet users have witnessed
cyberabuse and almost half have personally experienced it .
© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 24
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 7
• What are some of the key ethical issues associated with
the use of social networks and other social media?
• The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Crimes Against Children and
Sexually Violent Offender Registration Act:
- Set requirements for sex offender registration/notification
- Required states to create websites with information on
sex offenders residing in the state
• The Sex Offender Registration and Notification Provisions
(SORNA) of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety
Act of 2006:
- Set national standards that govern which sex offenders must
register and what data must be captured

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 25
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 8
• What are some of the key ethical issues associated with
the use of social networks and other social media?
• Most social networking platforms have terms of use
agreements and policies that state that the site has the
right to delete inappropriate material and terminate user
accounts.
• Inappropriate material posted online includes intimate
photos/videos of people—posted without their permission
- Such posts are often referred to as “revenge porn” and are used
to shame, embarrass, and/or harass a former partner

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 26
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.
 Summary, Part 9
• What are some of the key ethical issues associated with
the use of social networks and other social media?
• The First Amendment protects the right of freedom of
expression from government interference but does not
prohibit free speech interference by private employers.
• Organizations should put in place a social media policy to
avoid legal issues and set clear expectations for employees.
• Additional social media issues include the increased risk of
car accidents caused by the use of social media while driving
and the tendencies of social media users towards narcissism
and self-image manipulation.

© 2019 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part, except for use as permitted in a license distributed with a certain product or service or 27
otherwise on a password-protected website for classroom use.