There is a large amount of information that is censored in America, and the citizens don’t usually realize what details are being withheld from their knowledge. Censorship is the act of prohibiting things that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security. Censorship is carried out mostly by the government but also by private companies, influencing and usually putting a bias spin on the information being given. When it comes to censorship, there are many pros and cons. There are many positive impacts that come from censorship, and it is sometimes used to protect people or important information that is meant to be kept secret.
When a journalist wants to report an article, interview, survey, etc. they cannot report what people need and/or want to know, they can only report what the government wants the people to know (“Censorship Effects on Society”). They do not have the freedom to express what they really want to which deprives them of their rights. The United States and many other countries see the internet as a threat and a means of control which is why information of the World Wide Web is censored (Bennett). It is believed that the government censors as a way to have control not to protect citizens; by knowing more, they have the upper
Other countries, such as Russia were alarmed by such turmoil and attempted to prevent such chaos in their countries by supressing enlightened writings. Such censorship helped many monarchs keep their country stable and controlled for many years. Though censorship is often viewed as a negative, it can have positive benefits when helping to keep a country peaceful. As in Julius Caesar, when the public is roused it often becomes to radical and can be a danger to public safety, as also supposed by the turmoil of the French Revolution. Free speech is a liberty, usually guaranteed for good reasons, however the governments use of censorship, in certain cases, can often be benefit when helping to keep stability and prevent
Not being censored also opened up a range of things I may never have known if I was. Also not being censored has been shown that some kids mature faster than the ones censored. Those people also seem to understand what to do in a complex situation while others may not. Even so, censorship will be argued on whether it’s right or wrong for years to come. At some point, hopefully, someone will change that.
It can be seen from different angles since many countries are determined to live in a free expression society but others want to enforce censorship in many situations. Countries that are against censorship is mainly because it can be very powerful in the sense that it can control what is shown on the news. It may present false statements and mislead the people in to believing things that are not true. If censored, everything would have to pass first through the government, and they may change some stories to please them. This can lead to only showing favoritism for certain brands or groups; companies may get to control the information that gets to the country.
Prabhakar Pillai, author or “Pros and Cons of Censorship”, states “It [censorship] prevents the public display of disrespect to any particular individual or community.” Racism, sexism, and other forms of hates towards a group of people wouldn’t be all over the internet. Cyberbullying could be diminished. Geoff Yang then goes on to say, “We need censorship to keep the dimly lit corners of cyberspace safe.” Nowadays, simply voicing your opinion, or even not owning up to society’s idea of “perfect”, can result in cyberbullying. Censorship could even save lives. Prabhakar Pillai, author of “Pros and Cons of Censorship”, says “Scenes of people consuming alcohol or smoking influence people to copy them.” Seeing others suffer from substance abuse may peak others’ curiosity, which could lead them down the same path.
This is done to protect children or sensitive people, or to promote or restrict political or religous groups. Throughout history, censorship has been used since ancient times, of course, in different shapes and forms as modern day censorships. Example s of old censorship could be for example an emperor or dictaror banning certain type of knowledge or ideas from another place in a book form for example. Now a days, censorship is a very impirtant part of society, especially with the introduction of the internet. Usually, we relate the word censorship with pornography or nudity.
Most of the time Freedom Of speech was considered as dangerous for political rulers, so it was heavily restricted to publicly representing opinions about different matters. As the time flew government realized that it was inividable process, so they used censorship as the more loyal way of dealing with of what the individuals had to say. The statement says that censorship was used to “protect the readers” from rude language. The best example that we can use is Mark twain’s masterpiece “The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn” The books itself was written in 19’th century. When white people still had control over black people as they considered themselves more educated and as one and only race.
Fahrenheit 451 brilliantly illustrates a life where censorship eliminates thought provoking activities and replaces such activities with those of instant gratification. Censorship is a controversial topic that often confuses the common person. “Censorship, the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are ‘offensive,’ happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others” (“What is Censorship” 1). Knowing the definition of censorship allows for the ability to discern suppression from the whole truth. Why censor in the first place?
Censorship is defined as the practice of officially examining books, movies, etc., and suppressing unacceptable parts. There are benefits to this practice, but also negative backlashes. We see censorship not only in the world today, but it comes as a topic in many movies and books, such as Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley. Censorships appeals to some people because they believe it has many benefits, which to some, overweighs the negatives. The fact that things such as extreme violence, and even sex is censored from television and to an extent, in some movies appeal to those who are weak in the stomach, and most of all to parents.