Eight Values of Free Expression

I think out of all the theories of free expression number 4, Individual Self-fulfillment, resonates most with me. "Free speech enables individuals to express themselves and thereby create their own identity. " As an artist and musician this one seems close to home. Being able to express myself and have my own identity is very important in the creative industry. Artists need to have the ability to share their message and have an individual unique identity for fans to relate to. Without having this, this world would have no creativity. No art, music, or dance which we all innately need. I also love the idea of theory 3, Stable Change. This is important to me because certain things can really set me off sometimes but Im not a violent person. What I mean by this is that I can get very angry but Im not going to react by becoming violent with someone-most people feel the same way. When I feel angry I tend to "vent" to someone I trust or feel would understand where Im coming from. I think this expression is very important for people to be able to get their anger out without having to resort to violence. Its a much safer way to get your feelings out there and work it in a healthy way. 

Theory 2, Participation in Self Government, seems like the one that might be struggling in todays society. This theory states that citizens should be well informed on all candidates when voting on an election. I think with todays issues with censorship and social media this isn't completely accurate. There is a problem with algorithms to where you are force-fed certain information. Yes, anyone can post whatever they want so all candidate information is out there somewhere, but that doesn't necessarily mean its going to get to you and your feed. Therefore, information is getting lost and rumors and fake news have become so prominent we don't know whats real and whats fake.

Going back to theory 4, not only is this seen in music its also seen in social media. Being able to have our own identity a part of all fields across communication. When we look at social media today we know its a huge industry that has a lot of opportunity to make a lot of money. A lot of people get their fix of individual self fulfillment just off of social media. People use their Instagram, Snapchats and Facebook as an extension of their personality. Many people pour out their whole lives onto these platforms for hundreds, thousands, or millions to see. This theory shows us why people do this. As human beings, we want to be relatable and we want the approval of others. We want to show people who we really are and be accepted for that. Many people use social media to do this and find others who are similar to them. This is also why people photoshop themselves to be acceptable to society. For some people in order to feel self fulfillment they think they need to change what they look like so people will approve of them. Over time this has become a huge problem in our society and has led to more complicated issues in mental health. Linkedin has an article that describes these issues that are very important to our society today.