Social Justice - Social Justice, Social Norms and the Governance of Social Media

I found the article Social Justice, Social Norms and the Governance of Social Media by Tal Zarsky to be very informative. The first part of the article compares different forms of governance in virtual space and existing social media platforms. We are all aware of the terms of use that we agree to when creating an email, account on a website, or installing our new video game. We joke around that we are “‘accepting’ our lives away”, but when we agree to those terms we really can be held legally responsible or penalized as a user for breaking them. The article forces you to consider this reality by comparing it to “company towns” where the workers are required to abide by certain corporate rules while living on site. The only difference is that social media does not affect and extend throughout an individual's entire life (although some social media users might argue that it does). Later on, the article compares how the two major forms of governance of social space (by companies and by government) respond to social pressures and the likelihood their response is socially just (takes the overall good of all people into account).

Overall, the most important thing that I learned as a future teacher, student, and citizen from the article is that all institutions (regardless of their belonging to the public or private sector) are forced to act when they feel enough pressure from the masses. Though the institution may not respond in the way the people expected, or the people may be asking for something that is not socially just, the fact that an action is taken as a response shows that there is power to people. Since those in need of social justice are rarely part of a majority, I think that it is important for our students to understand what social justice is so they can advocate for those that may not have a voice.