Social Media and Gun Control Essay

Introduction

The United States Constitution grants US citizens the right to bear firearms. Despite the outcry by the liberals to limit gun ownership in the United States, conservatives support the idea of every law-abiding to possess firearms. With the numerous gun related incidents occurring in the United States, the media is largely responsible for the national communication. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have been key in the tracking of these occurrences.

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Media Influence on Gun Control

Today in the United States people rely heavily on technology, social platforms such as Twitter and Facebook provide many of the citizens with everyday news and events around the world. When incidences of mass shooting or violence happen the platforms are flooded with posts on the event. The events trend and consequently receive a worldwide audience. The news relayed by social media can greatly influence one's opinion on the subject of gun control (Lott, 112).

The largely controversial debate on gun control and implementing new and strict measures has been widely accepted by the public. The Law abiding citizens of the United States recognize the importance of owning firearms, purely for protection purposes. Social platforms such as Instagram and Twitter have not only been used to relay information but to people to demonstrate unity and to provide support to those affected by gun violence.

While the social platforms may not necessarily contain accurate or up to date information, they serve to keep the public informed on certain matters. Social platforms such as Twitter serve to spread the word over multiple users, despite the fact that none of the users may have actually witnessed or received first-hand information. They create awareness with the hope of cautioning others and breaking the news. Social media platforms provide a fast means of relaying information to a large number of people at once. Social platforms provide news before such occurrences are being reported by the news channels and radios.

Gun control and ownership has been a controversial topic stemming multiple debates. The coverage of gun control by the media is fairly one-sided. The media notably only discusses this issue whenever firearms are used wrongfully or in cases where a mass shooting occurs. Most of the coverage of gun control by social platforms lean towards the demerits of owning firearms and the impact they leave on society (Surette, 67). The posts on these platforms do not focus on the solutions but rather, on who to blame.

From first-hand experience, the media has been instrumental in informing the public and airing their opinions on gun violence, particularly on the limitations of gun ownership. For instance, during the Charleston shooting more and more people on Facebook and Twitter posted on their accounts with charleston shooting as the hashtag. By doing so they discussed the tragedy and the majority of them gave their opinions as to why gun ownership should be limited in the United States. The discussions lasted about five days until the posts disappeared altogether, proving that how gun control is covered by the media is limited.

After the Newtown shootings in Connecticut, the attitude and tone towards gun control have shifted more towards pro-gun control. Most users on twitter deliberated on the need to have personal protection should such an occurrence happen again. However, over time, the twitter sentiments became balanced with 38% opposed to having stricter gun control, while 42% supporting necessary measures to control gun violence.

About 60% of all conversations on Facebook and Twitter after the incident focused on the legislative debate, whereas the NRA was about 9%. The current president Barack Obama was also a significant newsmaker. There were spikes in mainstream and social media relating meticulously with some of his statements and actions, being the driver of the narrative and outspoken in favoring tighter gun control.

Social media has been used numerous times to provide emotional support to those affected by gun violence. It has been used to raise awareness as well as recognize people's efforts in the fight against gun violence. For example during the Florida shooting teenagers took to Twitter and snap chat to provide support and prayers to the affected families. At the same time, they used the platforms to confront the injustice.

Despite the positive impact social media has on bringing peace and ensuring justice, it has also been used negatively to incite acts of violence. Some acts of violence have been perpetuated via social platforms, with the responsible parties planning and communicating through them. Rival gangs, for example, use media platforms to make threats to each other. Social media platforms such as Facebook also provide a live audience for acts of gun violence, such as murder and robbery which are all streamed live (Nisbet, 243).

The media platforms have also been known to mislead the public when reporting on gun violence. Misleading pictures have been posted on Instagram and Twitter that did not necessarily convey the truth or what was happening on the ground. Misinformation such as claims of crisis actors and conspiracy theories has led to undermining of the justice system. Misinformation has resulted in blame shifting several times, sometimes the victims are also blamed due to inaccurate information.

Social media tends to be biased when reporting on certain topics. Most cases involving gun violence are closely tied to race by social networks. Most people operating these platforms are often inclined to think that whenever cases involving gun violence crop up more often than not a certain race is likely responsible (Bilgel , 132). This is clearly evident in the number of white shooter memes that are generated and spread online. This line of thinking could result in a corrupt justice system.

Whereas the individuals involved in gun violence should be held accountable, social platforms tend to focus on airing their displeasure with the government (Burke, Cary, 167). This depends entirely on the people or individuals posting the news. Stemming from the fact that not all posts are factual, users may be inclined to air their opinions which almost always tend to be biased or leaning on a certain way of thinking. Social media platforms tend to shift blame to the government whenever an instance of gun violence occurs. The users bash the government's lack of proper response or anticipation of these events.

Purpose of the argument on media tracking of control is to demonstrate the influence the media has changing people's opinions and laws. Social media has played a crucial role in the justice system by bringing to light some of the social injustices associated with firearms. By doing so it has enabled lawmakers and the justice system to come up with better ways of protecting its citizens from gun-related violence.

Twitter users have had tremendous and strong support for gun rights. They believe that possession of a gun does not make one a criminal but instead ensures personal safety. The overwhelming vocal expression of opinions has resulted in some states ruling in favor of possessing firearms, e.g. in the state of Texas that allows its citizens to carry handguns openly.

Most social media users advocate for acquisition of firearms for the protection of their homes and their families. As of 2015, there were more guns in circulation than people living in the United States. Some of these weapons end up in the wrong hands and consequently a spike in gun-related crime. The proposed ban on firearms in some states has led to a strong backlash from the public. Many gun owners have taken to social media to express their anger and instead have lobbied for better gun control bills (Lott, 96).

Conclusion

From the findings discussed in the above essay, despite most people needing to have firearms for protection, Firearms ownership should be controlled by strict laws. Social media has been important in the tracking of gun-related cases throughout the country, it has provided news at a fast rate enabling fast response. Social media has proven to be an effective means of influencing, informing as well as educating the public, it should, therefore, be used with caution to avoid misinformation or incitement.

Works cited

Arellano, Maria C, Stephanie Mizrahi, and Kim Schnurbush. Mass Shootings in the Media: An Examination of Mental Health and Gun Control. , 2017. Print.

Bilgel, Firat. "State Gun Control Laws, Gun Prevalence and the Supply of Homicide Organ Donors." (2018).

Burke, Ronald J., and Cary Cooper. "Violence and abuse in the workplace: an increasing challenge RONA LD J. BURKE." Violence and Abuse In and Around Organisations. Routledge, 2018. 23-60.

Lott, John R. The Bias against Guns: Why Almost Everything You've Heard About Gun Control Is Wrong. Washington, D.C: Regnery Pub, 2003. Internet resource.

Nisbet, Lee. The Gun Control Debate: You Decide. Amherst, N.Y: Prometheus Books, 2001. Print.

Surette, Ray. Media, Crime, and Criminal Justice. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning, 2014. Internet resource.