Social Media and Freedom of Thought

Abstract

Freedom of thought, viewed as a natural right, has become a topic of interest in the context of the threat of human dignity by media warfare, due to the degree of globalization of the media. This fundamental right must be an essential component of any democratic information society. The general idea from which this article starts is circumscribed to the social media phenomenon and its effects on freedom. Thus, it is considered how certain aspects of this phenomenon can restrict the user’s right to freedom of thought with his own mind, in relation to democracy. One of these and the most common is manipulation, the behavior that the new media user should become aware of. A balance must be struck between the need to respect human dignity and the right to freedom of critical thinking and the need to preserve the right to store, process and disseminate information and ideas.

Keywords: communication, social media, conventional media, freedom of critical thinking, manipulation, democracy