Facebook’s emotional contagion study and the ethical problem of co-opted identity in mediated environments where users lack control

Authors

Evan Selinger, Rochester Institute of Technology - Department of PhilosophyFollow
Woodrow Hartzog, Boston University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

ISSN

1747-0161

Publisher

SAGE Publishing

Language

en-US

Abstract

We argue a main but underappreciated reason why the Facebook emotional contagion experiment is ethically problematic is that it co-opted user data in a way that violated identity-based norms and exploited the vulnerability of those disclosing on social media who are unable to control how personal information is presented in this technologically mediated environment.

Recommended Citation

Evan Selinger & Woodrow Hartzog, Facebook’s emotional contagion study and the ethical problem of co-opted identity in mediated environments where users lack control , in 12 Research Ethics 35 (2015).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/3383