Discussion Question for PSAD 495

Running Head: SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT 1

SOCIAL MEDIA EFFECT 14

Social Media Effect to Public Safety Administration

Michael Petras

University of Maryland University College

Introduction

Regulation of social media usage has led to lawmakers, community members, and even the litigators in shaping their policies. This is done based on federal, local, and state laws while also realigning the information that they are sharing online. This is concerning the public safety administration that is usually affected by the continued use of social media platforms. Public safety administration is also based on restricting access to personal information while trying to protect citizens from various issues such as bullying and cybercrime. Social media usage has continued to put more people at risk, and there is a need for the provision of public safety protection by the relevant administrators. This needs to be tied to the generation of federal laws that protect information and data from various individuals that have been posted on social media platforms while encouraging the much-needed transparency in the protection of the public. Continued social media usage by the general public has also brought about the issue of stolen identity due to the emergence of modern technology. The new technology arrival has been the leading cause of the interaction of many people on social media platforms (Beckett, 2018). Those tasked with policymaking have always argued that the administration of public safety should be in line with the duty to protect the privacy or access to information and data from various individuals. In that regard, this paper aims at analyzing the issue of social media usage as it affects the administration of public safety at all times.

Resources

Public safety administration often encompasses the release and coordination of various resources, which can be able to ensure the safety and security of the community as a whole (Gintova, 2018). Administration of public safety is inclusive of many departments such as the police, the emergency services, the medical services, and even the fire department. Public safety administration also happens to be affected by limited resources when it comes to preventing the processes involved from working efficiently. This can be linked to the limiting resources by the government while ensuring the safety and the security of the general public (Baym, 2015). The general public will always rely upon a variety of services that come from the relevant governments to enable the provision of safety and security to the public in their daily lives. However, limited resources will end up hampering the whole process as systems and policies seize to operate with the much-needed efficiency (Wohn & Bowe, 2016).

Public safety administration services happen to be rendered by government agencies in most cases, and this usually occurs at the local, state, or federal levels. The resources that are needed when it comes to the enactment of public safety concerning the usage of social media platforms are diverse. For instance, public safety administration may require the officials that will help to ensure its efficiency, and this may be a challenge at times. For that matter, the order in which these services are offered becomes less efficient (Beckett, 2018).

The officials, such as managers or even the policy administrators, must be able to ensure that public safety needs are being provided to the citizens or the community at large at all times. This is because the different departments of public safety are often mandated to the provision of public safety and protection of information being shared on social media platforms.

On the other hand, public safety administration has been able to embrace the application of social media platforms as a resource in fighting crime at all times. This is done by using it to not only inform the public but keep the educated as well (Gintova, 2018). Notably, tools of social media platforms are helping the administrators of public safety in communicating emergencies to the general public while also building situational awareness.

By doing so, the use of social media has helped the agencies in tracking criminals. However, as much as people have the feeling that social media is private, it is prudent to note that agencies of law enforcement have often found ways of gaining access to information and data about many individuals (Beckett, 2018). The police and other public safety administration departments can be able to rely on social media as a resource to gain more evidence in prosecuting a criminal case.

The other challenge being faced in public safety with regards to the resources is based on the digital age, whereby the users of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and even Instagram often share their geographic locations unknowingly. Such data could be used by anyone while derailing the essence of protecting the public and ensuring public safety at all times (Gintova, 2018). For instance, there is a need for surveillance (that is not discriminatory by any form) for the general public to help agencies in the provision of safety as they continue using social media platforms. However, surveillance resources have proved to be inadequate; hence some criminals have found a leeway to violate the privacy rights of other people in the general public (Wohn & Bowe, 2016).

Additionally, other resources need to be adopted by public safety administrators, such as the police using body cameras and dash cams. These can be applied in the collection of data that concerns infringement on personal rights within the social media platforms (Beckett, 2018). In the absence of such resources, there is a challenge to public safety administration as social media platforms usage has become diversified due to the emergence of higher technology. The funds have to go hand in hand with the laws that guide the public in using social media platforms to ensure that public safety administration continues to protect data and privacy. In the same manner, the resources are to be encompassed with the implementation of these laws in a bid to ensure public safety on the platforms of social media while restricting the access people have on individual data (Gintova, 2018).

In a bid to foster the public safety administration process, there is a need for advanced research while social media and technology continue to advance. However, there are no resources that can be used for such advancement by the agencies of public safety administration. This leaves a gap in the provision of the much needed public safety to all individuals who are in need with regards to the information provided by individuals from a particular category (Burton, 2010). At the moment, it is clear that gathering information can be done with ease from diversified groups on the social media platform, and a boost to criminal activities in the cyber world. This happens without face-to-face interaction, and criminals or any other users find it easier to more comfortable to carry out their activities on social media platforms. For that matter, the various public safety administration agencies have to seek for service of a social scientist so that they can be able to form new theories that postulate the interact of such people on the cyber world and help to avert the harm caused on the general public (Beckett, 2018).

People

Technology has proven to be an essential part of our daily lives for people in the world because it applies to bills payment, communication, and adopting better transport systems. People depend on the improved technology for communication, such as sending emails, carrying out social media chats, and even trying to manage their daily lives in general (Gintova, 2018). Technology has also improved the access that people have with regards to smartphone usage and any other gadgets for that matter. However, improvement in technology has also been able to cause a substantial amount of harm to society, where many are doing bad things in the community (Beckett, 2018).

Notably, social media platforms have helped the nation in the sense that they have enhanced activities such as the business sector while helping the way promotions are being done or even increasing the general expansion of the way businesses are being run. However, the use of social media has also come about with adverse effects at different levels since individuals have always found ways to infringe on emotional health, the general social interactions even personal privacy of other people. This has proved to be a challenge to the way public safety administration is being carried out within the society as a whole (Baym, 2015).

While carrying out public safety administration, people are always an important consideration, especially if the right people are in place for the whole process. However, it is essential to note that such people should have the right amount of experience and training when it comes to the provision of much-needed safety to society as they continue to utilize the social media platforms at all times in their daily lives. Furthermore, the protection process for the rights of individuals or even the restriction of access to their information and data should always be done by people working under an effective organizational structure of the public safety administration agencies (Beckett, 2018).

While the greater society continues to experience globalization, people are getting connected around the world on a larger scale, and this has continued to improve their access to resources and information that are limitless. The connectivity has maintained to ensure that society is thriving with success as the use of social media platforms is being embraced in all circles (Baym, 2015). Many people continue to be dependent upon social media platforms in carrying out their activities, and they have been spending a considerable amount of time to post and go through news feeds.

This involves divulging more personal information while they create new relationships so as to keep in touch with their colleagues (Burton, 2010). However, public safety administration personnel have been lacking the relevant training and experience that is much needed in the provision of safety to the general public. The heavy usage of social media often entails that the agencies that deal with public safety provision get adequate training by the government has not been able to do so, resulting in the adverse effects that have been realized within the society as a whole (Gintova, 2018).

Furthermore, the organizational structures of public safety administration agencies, such as the police departments, have not been able to accommodate the personnel that is mandated to fostering public safety at all times. The social media platforms have seen some of its users being subjected to harassment and personal privacy intrusion at the same time (Baym, 2015). Fight such crimes is the relevant public safety agencies have to try and come up with sections within their departments under their organizational structures that will be able to deal with social media crime. This is in line dealing with cases such as users being exposed to cyber-sex or even online harassment that happens to the various users.

As this is done, it will be able to hinder the cybercriminals from conveying the insensitive messages that adversely affect the emotional status of these individuals. The personnel under such sections of the public safety administration agencies have not been trained adequately to deal with the instances that entail dealing with cybercrime (Burton, 2010). These are such as posting disturbing images on the internet of other people without focusing on how it will negatively affect their emotional stability or hurting one's feelings. The personnel should be trained adequately in ways that can be used to handle individuals who carry out online harassment while often causing emotional disorders to the victims (Gintova, 2018).

Processes

Efficient public safety administration often requires relevant agencies to come up with better policies and procedures. However, the current policies and procedures that happen to govern the various social media platforms are not that adequate, and their mandate has been lagging in terms of enforcement for the much-needed regulations. This calls for appropriate and proper checks and balances to be put into place at all times to govern the activities of the various agencies that are mandated with public safety administration. For that matter, enforcement of public safety has proven to be a challenge in recent times because the existing policies and procedures are not adequate at all (Beckett, 2018).

For starters, most social media platforms have often been used as a mode of expression for a personal opinion while infringing on public safety at the same time. This has made it difficult for the various agencies to control its usage, as many often cite the use of social media to be free (Boyd, 2015). Continued use of social media has been putting all the public users at risk while compromising their overall safety, given the fact that the various agencies do not have means to regulate the activities being carried out on the platforms. The different policies and procedures in place have been laid ineffective because most of the speech privileges on the social media platforms are geared towards freedom without limiting the formation of hate groups or even criminal organizations for that matter (Burton, 2010). The policies are not adequate to be able to control what people are posting on the online social media platforms, and there are no specific standards to be used as a guide for all group members' behavior (Baym, 2015). Such a norm has rendered the policies and procedures that govern the activities on the social media platforms to be less strict hence affecting the public safety administration process as a whole (Beckett, 2018).

There is also the concept of cyberbullying that has increased in recent times on social media platforms. This is because public safety administration has not been adhered to fully, and the reason trickles down to the imperfect policies and procedures that have been put into place to govern such activities. Gintova (2018) clearly articulates the fact that public safety administration has been facing a challenge when it comes to social media users because illegal access to information and personal data on the internet has not been restricted at all. This is based on the various app and programs that utilize such measures that are not strict while leaving a negative effect on the victims of these cases at all times. Other policies do not tackle data posting that could leave a negative mark on the society, such as immoral actions, suicide commitment, and terrorism hence making it difficult for the public safety administration agencies to carry out their tasks (Wohn & Bowe, 2016).

Stakeholders and the Constraints and Opportunities

Analysis of the public safety administration concerning the use of social media platforms can also be based on the stakeholders, the constraints, and even the opportunities that are involved along the way. These are clearly outlined as being part of the process because they form part of the outcome that is expected while handling the issue of public safety at all times (Boyd, 2015).

Stakeholders

Social media platforms consist of various stakeholders, with a good number of people involved in its usage getting data and information through its use. This is data and information that is based upon daily events such as meetings and even other activities that do not frequently recur, such as birthdays. Most of these events are passed on social media platforms, and this ends up leaving personal information on the media (Gintova, 2018). If unauthorized persons access such data, it ends up being in the wrong hands while being used to cause harm to the victims at the same time. For that matter, the main stakeholders that need to ensure their own public safety administration process are the users of the social media platforms.

Most of the users do not want to filter or even limit the kind of data and information they are sharing on the social media platforms, and this is leveraged upon by the criminals who find their data with ease. This has posed a challenge to the relevant public safety administration agencies as raising the level of awareness has not borne fruit (Beckett, 2018). Some of the leading platforms of social media being used by the unsuspecting individuals happen to be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, emails, and even that of WhatsApp. Such media apps have been accessed with ease by the criminals due to the lapse in data security by the individuals using the platforms, as most of them have failed to secure their data with necessary measures (Boyd, 2015).

Constraints

On the other hand, there have been various constraints that are being faced by public safety agencies as they try to enforce safety concerning social media usage. This is based on safeguarding the information that is coming from various individuals who use the platforms from thieves and other cybercriminals at the same time. Thus, the fight is being hindered in most cases with emerging constraints concerning the use of social media networks. The various restrictions that are being faced within the sector are such as ensuring data privacy for all the individuals subscribed to the social media platforms as their numbers turn out to be immense (Beckett, 2018). The protection of such a massive amount of data proves to be a challenge to the public safety administration agencies as the technology to do so continues to be elusive.

For example, a criminal can access Facebook accounts of a given individual and take their personal information to be used in tracking their email accounts to steal personal information later on without the user's knowledge. This becomes a challenge as the agencies find it difficult to tell if, indeed, it is the owner having access or thief of such information being granted access to private information (Gintova, 2018). The other constraint is the regulation of online communities and their respective activities at all times on the social media platforms. Therefore, public safety administration agencies often face the challenge of preventing negative impacts of using social media outlets for specific individuals because regulation of activities on the media platforms is not more natural (Boyd, 2015).

Opportunities

The process of public safety administration is often affected by the opportunities that social media platforms present to various business sectors. This is because there are opportunities such as the interconnection of multiple people on a single platform that makes it easier for them to access relevant information at the same time (Gintova, 2018). Through social media use, various people can connect with many others and at different locations to interact and communicate at lower costs.

This has been the main reason why the regulation of social media platforms becomes a challenge by the various public safety administration agencies. As much as the agencies would want to regulate the ongoing activities on the media platforms, it would end up affecting people's communication and interaction means (Beckett, 2018). It would also mean that people start to incur more costs while using other forms of communication since the social media platforms they are using have been interrupted by the agencies. In the end, the routine activities and interaction of people will be suspended.

Conclusion

Conclusively, it is apparent that social media usage has often affected the way public safety administration is being carried out in many circles. This is because it has led to the community members trying to shape and realign their information that is being shared on such platforms. The concept of social media users often affects the public safety administration in any given scenario because access to the information posted on such platforms while trying to protect citizens from various issues such as bullying and cybercrime is a big challenge for the relevant agencies. Social media usage has continued to put more people at risk, and there is a need for the provision of public safety protection by public safety administrators. Some of the measures that can be applied in curbing such issues are the enactment of laws that provides public safety at all times. From the text above, it is also clear that new technology has been the leading cause of many people interacting on social media platforms while also resulting in lawmakers trying to come up with better policies and procedures to be used in the administration of public safety. At the same time, those that are tasked with policymaking have always argued that the administration should always be in line with the duty to protect the privacy and access, information, and data from various individuals. In that regard, this paper has managed to analyze the issue of social media usage as it affects the administration of public safety at all times.

References

Baym, N. (2015). Social Media and the Struggle for Society. Social media + society, 1(1), 205630511558047. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305115580477

Beckett, J. (2018). Five significant issues in public law and public administration. Handbook of Public Administration, 697-719. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315093215-18

Boyd, d. (2015). Social Media: A Phenomenon to be Analyzed. Social media + society, 1(1), 205630511558014. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305115580148

Burton, G. (2010). Media and Society. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Gintova, M. (2018). Use of social media in Canadian public administration: Opportunities and barriers. Canadian Public Administration, 62(1), 7-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12298

Wohn, D., & Bowe, B. (2016). Micro Agenda Setters: The Effect of Social Media on Young Adults' Exposure to and Attitude Toward News. Social media + society, 2(1), 205630511562675. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2056305115626750