Ethics of Social Media - Unit

Tetrad of Media Effects

A framework developed by Marshall McLuhan consisting of four fundamental dimensions/questions applied to any technology or human artifact to reveal its complexities, effects, and dangers.

Areivut

A Jewish concept based on Talmud Shevuot 39a ('Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh') denoting legal responsibility for caring for others, as well as being culturally or emotionally bound up with one another.

Mashal

A Hebrew word for parable, used in Midrash Rabbah (Vayikra 4:6) in the story of a passenger drilling under his seat on a boat to illustrate collective responsibility.

Hezek Re'iyah

Literally 'damage done by seeing'; a halakhic principle stating that invading someone's privacy through visual exposure constitutes real physical and legal damage.

Chatzer HaShutafin

A shared courtyard where, according to Mishnah Bava Batra 60a, co-owners are forbidden from placing or altering doors and windows so that they face one another directly, preserving privacy.

Reshut HaRabim

The public domain or public ground, where different privacy and property usage rules apply compared to private property (reshut hayachid).

Shechinah

The divine presence of God, which according to Rabbi Yohanan in Bava Batra 60a rested upon Israel because their tent openings in the wilderness did not face each other.

Rocheyl (Holchei R'chil)

A peddler or tale-bearer mentioned in Leviticus 19:16; defined by Rashi as an inciter of quarrels who spies out evil in private homes to spread in public marketplaces.

Lashon Ha-Ra

Forbidden derogatory or negative speech; according to Hafetz Hayyim, it applies equally to written and spoken words, implicit or explicit hints, and statements made in humor without malicious intent.

Ramban on Hezek Re'iyah

A 13th-century commentary on Bava Batra 49a establishing that visual damage includes harm caused by the evil eye, damaging speech, or modesty violations, requiring a person to block windows to prevent continuous sin.

Aruch HaShulchan on Hezek Re'iyah

A late 1800s code of law by Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein ruling that visual damage is real because human labor and daily routines require privacy, and the gaze of others enacts the evil eye.

Netivot HaMishpat on Hezek Re'iyah

An early 1800s commentary by Rabbi Yaakov Lorberbaum stating that standing opposite someone's house to look toward it is forbidden even without intent, because it generates suspicion of spying.

Aggadah of the Stones (Bava Kama 50b)

A talmudic story where a man discards stones from his private field onto public ground and is admonished by a pious man for moving objects from 'a place that is not yours into a place that is yours.'

Rabbi Norman Lamm's Privacy Duty

An ethical analysis asserting that privacy in Halachah is both a legal right and a moral duty requiring individuals to curb exhibitionism and actively prevent privacy intrusions in imitation of God.

Middot

Jewish character traits or moral virtues required to make intentional, wise, and ethical decisions when using modern social media platforms.

Mitzvot

Torah commandments or obligations that guide Jewish ethical standards and may conflict with contemporary cultural norms on social media.