After researching about the causes of the British Riots, it almost seems as though it is a straight answer to say that the use of social media caused it. CBC News explains that rioters and looters ganged together and let each other know where to go by using BlackBerry messenger, text messages, Facebook, and Twitter. Although these are ways of enabling this kind of act, I would beg to differ with the statement that social media caused the riots. The phrase, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people" comes to mind when I think of this. Yes, social media does facilitate and create that connection with these people, but social media such as BlackBerry messenger cannot be blamed as completely as some are. Social medias are used to connect others. As CBC News states, "such tools are now a fact of life and simply alternative forms of communication- for good or evil." Social media a more common use of communication that leaves us dependent and something like a text or tweet about the riots is completely equivalent to sending a letter about it or using the word of mouth. There is almost no barrier between the two, making it impossible to put the full blame on social media for the riots in Britain.
Ylaja, P 2011, U.K. Riots Reveal Social Media Double Standard, viewed 22 August 2011, http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/08/10/social-media-riots.html
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