Censorship of Social Media - Essay Sample

Introduction

"There must be something hidden in books, something that is very intriguing that people can't imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning apartment. One cannot stay without apparent reason" (Bradbury 48). Montag's quote, the protagonist of the book Fahrenheit 451, written by Ray Bradbury. It is apparent that Montag has critical doubts concerning the reading of bools in this segment of the narration, mainly because he believes the questions directed to him by his neighbor Clarissa are beyond human capability. Thus, no one should ever think of asking them. One of the questions directed to him includes, "What is in the books that make them subservient enough to be censored or banned. Censorship, as depicted in the society of Fahrenheit 451, illustrates Bradbury's wants to understand the significance of knowledge in the present world. This anti-intellectualism aspect roots out from the fear of disagreement that eventually leads to sorrow and later determined or resolved through censorship.

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Who has the right to censor reading materials? How does one know what needs to be censored? The truth is that there is a lot of uncertainty in the censorship of the media. For example, a warning label in a video case may prevent a teenager from purchasing the video album. However, the video case does not highlight the appropriate age needed to watch the film. In Fahrenheit 451, a fire chief named Beatty mentions that "Cram them full of noncombustible information, choke them with knowledge full of evidence that they feel suffocated. By then, they will get back to their senses and start making right decisions" Bradbury 61). Beatty's quote depicts the notions that the individuals are only filled with the corrupted history so that society is always perceived as always correct. The learning structure in Fahrenheit 451 does not want to teach individuals any knowledge that would help them think differently or query how things have been progressing. The culture of social media has "... Generated a kind of intellectual stupidity where individuals assume, they understand something because they've seen, read, or seen a documentary about it" (Peloquin). The idea that people continuously embrace everything they encounter on the Internet is precisely the issue that ought to be solved. No one has the trouble of denying what is mentioned and generally believes what they perceive first. Simply put, the logic behind this is that it's appropriate to say nothing than to execute on it. This poses numerous issues within our culture due to various sources of contradictory evidence.

Over the years, innovation has had a constant effect on how we run our activities regularly. Technology also assumes a central role in censorship in Fahrenheit 451. Bradbury asks, "So who has ever broken the grip that envelopes you when you lower the grain in a TV lounge? It's growing whatever shape you like! It's the true atmosphere of the planet. It becomes, and it is the facts" (Bradbury, 84). This is while Beatty is at Montag's place, speaking to him. Essentially, he claims, the parlor walls are captivating, and as you observe them, they become your truth. The authority governs their perceptions and does not encourage them to construct their ideas inside the Parlor walls. One proof of this is the three-walled Screen in Guy Montag's sitting room. His mom, Mildred, consumes the TV all day and absorbs all the thoughtless content and misinformation that is served to her. Because of this, nearly half of her selective memory has been lost. In one scene, Mildred is asked about something that happens on a TV show she's watching, but she can't recall what's going on even though less than a few minutes have passed. She also reveals this action in another scene where Montag asks her to get some medication when he has a headache. After leaving the room, she resumes without the antidepressant, and she doesn't remember Montag's demand. "It's up to each of us to go beyond the easily accessible material available on the web daily and delve into the truth behind it all" (Peloquin). This study of culture is precisely what individuals need to do but never execute. Individuals every day whine regarding "fake new" but do not do anything about it. This is, so it's better not to do anything about it.

Social media is another form of censorship in Fahrenheit 451. Instead of reading, people watch TV or pay attention to the radio. The tv programs are not instructional. They don't let viewers worry about what they're seeing. Society relies on the regime that they obey whatever the authority suggests unconsciously (theme censorship). Citizens do not even care, but they let the state think about everything. The authorities forbade all books despite individuals being insulted by them. As Montag's boss, Captain Beatty, talks to Montag, he discusses that both books have been restricted. "Colored people don't like Little Black Sambo, he said. Burn it down. White individuals do not feel relaxed with Uncle Tom's Cabin. Burn it down" (Bradbury, 59). The correlation between beauty and social recognition is already visible in our everyday lives. To be welcomed in a community of individuals, we want to do things that our colleagues seem to do. As a result, the conformity of the presentation has become a standard definition of submission today. In Montag's novel, he discovers that a significant part of becoming a fireman does appear. "Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn them to the ashes, then burn the ashes. That's our official motto." (pg. 8) These are the words that Montag says to Clarisse while driving. When Montag said these phrases to Clarisse, he was presumably asking them to fit into the culture, where people who have no experience in technology are considered weird and strange. Within Montag and Clarisse's chat, Clarisse asks Guy Montag whether he's ever read any of the books they've burnt. "Do you ever read any of the books you burn? He laughed. "That's against the rules! "(pg. 8). While Montag has read some novels, he assured Clarisse that reading them was against the law. He's only putting on the shell that society needs him to and that he should be part of the 'perfect society.' Several of us may always adhere to the ideal of beauty rather than the importance of gifts and talents.

There are four significant types of censorship- destroying data, withholding information, self-censorship (reading), and using selective information. The withholding of information has been a critical issue in many regimes throughout history. In the Fahrenheit 451 book, Bradbury is intrigued by whether God acknowledges his son the manner that the society dressing him up or down, and by that, he is a frequent peppermint. The above information is an example of how mass media channels control and alter society's point of view (Kirkland, and Cowburn). The media takes the perception that society has of a particular individual and make it perfect. In the Fahrenheit 451 book, people used the image of Jesus, the son of God, to advertise toothpaste. The sellers spread false information by making the purchasers believe that buying the product will make them righteous. Mass media channels typically use such a strategy to depict specific public figures or celebrities as "holy" human beings. A modern global example of such Mao Zedong, hailing from the Republic of China (Chin). Many people in the China nation perceive him as a "god" because of how the media depict him (Xu). Bradbury acknowledges this concept when he asserts, "there is more than one way to burn a book" The ideology of book burning is the most concentrated version of censorship illustrates in Fahrenheit 451.

Conclusion

Censorship is a critical challenge in both fictional and real-world situations. In his book Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury carefully illustrates that censorship and authority play a significant role in how society perceives things and eventually controls them. The book comprehensively evaluates the dystopian society where the government and censorship have absolute rule. Censorship drifts people from the right to knowledge and shines the light away from the actual wrongdoings.

Works Cited

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. The Random House Publishing Group, 1982.

Chin, G. "Censorship Of Social Media In China." Science, vol 345, no. 6199, 2014, pp. 886-888. American Association For The Advancement Of Science (AAAS), doi:10.1126/science.345.6199.886-l.

Kirkland, Alice, and Pam Cowburn. "Head To Head: Should Young People Be Able To Scrub Away Embarrassing Social Media Posts?". Index On censorship, vol 42, no. 4, 2013, pp. 119-121. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/0306422013513413.

Peloquin, Andy. "Is social media culture breeding intelligence ignorance?" Breaking Muscle, 1 Aug. 2018, https://breakingmuscle.com/fitness/is-social-media-culture-breeding-intelligence-ignorance

Xu, Yizhou (Joe). "Programmatic Dreams: Technographic Inquiry Into Censorship Of Chinese Chatbots." Social Media + Society, vol 4, no. 4, 2018, p. 205630511880878. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/2056305118808780.