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The Dangers of Networks

Last month, an on-air shooting at a news station in Roanoke, Virginia made headline news. Vester Flanagan, who worked under the name Bryce Williams, shot his former WDBJ-TV colleagues, Alison Parker and Adam Ward, in the middle of a live interview. The shooting was not only caught on film by the camerapeople filming the interview, but also caught by Flanagan himself, using his GoPro camera. Flanagan later shot himself, but not before posting his video of the shooting on Facebook and Twitter. It was clear that Flanagan wanted the world to see what he had done. His mission was accomplished. Thanks to social networks, Flanagan’s actions ended up all over the Internet and various media outlets.

Flanagan’s story exemplifies the problem of living in such a highly connected society. The visual of the shooting could have been kept within the network of people present at the scene. Yet due to social media, the video went global. Having access to such a large social network can be very useful. It’s a great way to spread useful information and positivity (i.e. funny cat videos). Flanagan, however, used the accessibility to spread evil. The possibility of his name, or at least his actions, being known worldwide helped to motivate Flanagan to murder his former coworkers. Flanagan is not the first person to use the global network for harm. Cyber-terrorism has become a major concern as of late. It’s situations like these that bring up the question of whether or not access to such large networks should be regulated.

Source:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/26/us/virginia-shooting-wdbj/

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