254 Ethics in Higher Education: Values-driven Leaders for the Future
14.3 Looking Ahead: The Ethical Use of Social Media
Disconcertingly, there is no explicit mention in these findings of the
ethical use of social media. Perhaps that is because ethical conduct is
values-based, which implies that discretionary decisions are grounded in
values, which generally refer to standards and norms that encompass
what is good, right and fair conduct. Virtually all higher education
institutions assert values in their institutional strategies, to date most of
these have not been embedded in ethical codes of conduct or in social
media policies (where they exist) at our universities.
Fairness and accountability are invoked in some social media
policies. For example Harvard University’s Guidelines for Using Social
Media (2014) exhorts:
“Do No Harm – ... You must ensure that your authorized use of
social media does not harm or otherwise injure the University, its
faculty, its students, its alumni, or its employees.”
The University of Pretoria’s Policy on Social Media (2016) asserts
the following:
“Users of the University’s social media channels are required to
demonstrate high standards of ethics and conduct and to act
responsibly when they exchange ideas and information on the
University’s social media networks. [However] ... 3.2.1 Personal
use of social media must be conducted in a manner that indicates
no link or association with the University. For this reason
personal use is not covered in this policy” [my italics].
Both of these examples fail to acknowledge the interconnectedness
of social media and the inability of our institutions to monitor effectively
and apply appropriate sanctions, where abuses occur, especially in
instances of personal use. Exhorting people to “do no harm” or
forbidding the use of social media for personal purposes at work, will