If there’s one thing that can be said about the Internet, at large, it’s that there isn’t a true sense of quality control in place. Anyone who has the means to do so can create and publish their own content. Whether or not this results in success matters little, as the ability to produce still exists. Given the prevalence of content, on social media, Facebook has taken proactive measures to enhance the overall experience.
Facebook Increased Sensitivity of Graphic Content
As of late, Facebook started to show messages before bringing up content that may offend its users. According to an article on The Guardian, these “are you sure” types of messages are designed to alert said users of content, photos and videos alike, that stands the chance of offending or otherwise upsetting its user base. The move to create these warning prompts makes sense. After all, something that may offend someone in their 60s will not necessarily be seen that way by someone who’s in their mid-20s. The ability to caution users beforehand makes sense.
What surprised me, according to the article, was that these changes have been occurring since this past December. In particular, this move was made in order to prevent potentially offensive videos from automatically playing on Facebook feeds. After all, it doesn’t take much for a user to scroll down through their posts, only to come across a piece of content that could cause them to click away. Even though one could argue that this idea of sensitivity could have been more effective if it had been established earlier in Facebook’s life, the fact that the company is working towards a friendlier social network should still be recognized.
Of course, one has to wonder what this will mean for content on Facebook, in the future. I have to believe that content which is considered either violent or racy will still be allowed, provided the aforementioned warnings are set in place beforehand. This is effective for a couple of reasons. For one, as stated earlier, users can better filter content that could possibly upset them, turning them away from Facebook entirely. Secondly, users will not be censored, as they will be allowed to produce what they’d like. They just have to make sure that it doesn’t break Facebook’s rules or elicit countless reports from users.
To be fair, I’m not the most politically correct person in the world. Few things truly get under my skin, but this doesn’t mean that others are the same way. Many people simply do not want to encounter offensive content, which is understandable, and Facebook making the moves to place warnings on various works can only help to make the overall experience better. Facebook has to cater to several viewpoints, according to any online marketing firm in the world, and I am of the opinion that these warning messages serve as the perfect compromise.
What is your take on Facebook’s implementation of warning messages, which will preface shocking or upsetting content? Please leave your thoughts below!
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