"What comes to mind when you hear “Colorado Springsâ€? The location of the prominent military base Peterson Air Force Base? Or, Garden of the Gods? Pikes Peak? Maybe you know it as one of the top five places to live in the country. However, there’s a darker connotation with my home city that hides in the shadows of these giants. We have one of the highest teen suicide rates in the nation. My county, El Paso Country, holds the unfortunate and cringe-worthy title of, “Teen Suicide Capital†in America. Some of these people went to my schools, and I know people directly affected by these tragic deaths, so I can’t help but wonder, “Could they have been prevented?â€. Could these tragic deaths have been prevented by the government monitoring of internet and social media content? Taking into account media exposure and rights of the people, the answer to this critical question …show more content…
That they have the right to free speech, therefore the right to post or tweet or hashtag anything they please. That they have the right to their privacy, that no one should be able to come in and find out who is saying what. But, what if you say, “Go kill yourself.� Is that ok? Is that considered freedom of speech? Technically, yes, it is. However, the question that should be answered is: Should this be tolerated? No, no it should not. There is a fine and definite line between freedom of speech and harmful speech. Many may pretend to be unaware of where that line is, but everyone knows. Therefore, it is not wrong for the government to step in to prevent this kind of behavior. Is it an infringement on privacy and this so-called freedom of speech? Yes. But, more importantly, is it necessary? Definitely. In order to save lives and prevent the spread of malevolent ideas, the monitoring of internet content is