The rise of social media has been quick. Really quick! Facebook was founded just over seven years ago and now we can hardly remember a time without it. The same can be said for all social media, but can society keep up with such rapid change?
One story that made UK headlines recently would suggest no. A high profile case, taking place at Manchester Crown Court has collapsed after a female juror allegedly contacted a defendant through Facebook, whilst the trial was in progress.
The trial of an alleged multi-million pound drug ring had already been in session for 10 weeks and had cost in excess of £6m but has now been put on hold due to alleged misconduct. A conversation between the defendant and a member of the jury was discovered yet the motives for the conversation are still unknown. Although there is no precedent for such a case, both could face lengthy jail sentences if found guilty of misconduct.
Juries are bound by law not to discuss the case with anyone outside the courtroom, and in some circumstances the jury will be housed in hotels so as to prevent communication. But with social media platforms readily available and easily accessible from mobile devices, this surely raises the question of what communications access juries should be allowed.
This is just one case of where society wasn’t quite ready for the social media boom. There have been countless others and there will continue to be. It will be a case of trial and error until society can cope with the rapid expansion of mighty social media and all that it entails.
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Nick
June 19, 2011 at 12:52 pm
Facebook has been going for 7 years already? I had no idea it had been going on for so long.
jesty
June 24, 2011 at 10:39 am
The mistake was with the law enforcers.. maybe it was not obvious enough that time that facebook is regular communication tool.. But could they really blame it on facebook? no they can’t.. 😀
Darin
June 25, 2011 at 5:27 pm
Social media when misused leads to such serious crimes. Other networking sites should also learn from such incidents so that it can help in preventing criminals from spreading anti social elements in the society. Social media makes things easier for us but its sad to come across people who misuse it for selfish motives.
Sammy
June 30, 2011 at 12:58 pm
Facebook has completed it’s 7 years and how long it’ll run no one can say. Facebook not only a social networking site but a business interection point too. Here’s many options to promote your business by facebook.
SeoDezin
July 6, 2011 at 1:15 pm
Today most of the young generation is wasting time on the social media like facebook. It has advantages as well as disadvantages.
Sam
July 19, 2011 at 11:26 am
Good to read this and I think social media is a great help to promote your business and to increase your sales as well.
Alex
July 28, 2011 at 8:17 am
Now let’s see how they deal with the new Google+…Interesting “battle” to keep an eye on.
jorge
August 28, 2011 at 3:21 pm
No.. I don’t think facebook got a fault here.. it’s mainly the users fault that they communicate and facebook was just a tool..