JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After reports showed the 17-year-old Iowa school shooter made several social media posts around the time of the shooting, some people are questioning the role of social media in preventing tragedies like this.
According to a TikTok posted on Dylan Butler’s page, he was believed to be inside a school bathroom posing with a blue bag.
“Now we wait,” the post’s caption said.
This has some people wondering what if the post was immediately reported.
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“Social media companies are using artificial intelligence to flag content...and also users can report content for flagging. But that requires either an artificial intelligence review, a human review, or a combination of the two and that takes time. So when those posts come very quickly, relative to the event, it’s very unlikely that we would have known enough to stop it from happening,” Dr. Courtney Barclay, Jacksonville University Law and Communication professor said.
The Social Media Victims Law Center (SMVLC) said social media platforms can prevent some school shootings by changing their algorithms to prioritize nonviolent or provocative content.
The SMVLC also said platforms can use screening systems to remove illegal, violent content, and threats without displaying it, and they can alert authorities when illegal content is detected.
The SMVLC said social media platforms will never accept responsibility until they are forced to go through litigation.
Reports said that the shooter may have been bullied, but a motive for the shooting may never be confirmed.
According to stopbullying.gov, about one in five students ages 12 to 18 experience bullying nationwide. The Pew Research Center said nearly half of United States teens have been cyberbullied.
“It used to be that bullying was something [that happened] between the hours of the school day, maybe a couple of hours after school. Now it’s 24/7, with the internet and social media,” Theresa Rulien, President and CEO of the Child Guidance Center said.
Rulien said we have to pay attention to the foundation and support system around the child.
“I always want to encourage parents, teachers, any adults in the in the picture, to pay attention to any changes in behavior,” Rulien said.
Liz Repking, founder of Cyber Safety Consulting said school resource officers can be trained on “leakage” or a plan leaking out on social media to carry out an act.
“[School resource officers] are identifying potential threats and shutting them down before they ever happen,” Repking said.
Repking also said there are many resources available to parents, guardians, students, and schools.
One of Cyber Safety’s primary philosophies is “parents have to parent.”
“It’s not a technology problem. It’s a parenting issue. It’s about talking to kids about how to use technology in safe and ethical ways and that’s a bigger question. Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet from the software side that we can say use this software and the problem will go away,” Repking said.