The Eight Values of Free Expression

These eight values of free expression were here to help with our individual values, ideas, and opinions. This also helps with dialogue, understanding, and increases public knowledge. If we do not have freedom of speech then we can not grow new ideas and learn, which helps communities.

Individual Self-Fulfillment

This gives people the freedom to create their own identity and show who they are. I see this a lot every day with people standing outside somewhere telling others why they should not shop there, or even on social media. Social media gives everyone the chance to express who they are through the accounts they make. Every day people post their beliefs about politics, or essentially anything that is posted online. 

Individual Self-Fulfillment also helps find people who share the same beliefs, hobbies, interests, etc. Especially on social media, people can easily find others who are the same and therefore can share the same ideas and learn from each other. 

The Market Place of Ideas

This can also be known as the Discovery of Truth, when the truth and the falsehood are allowed to be free for everyone to hear and listen to, the truth will always come out on top. I can see this as well through social media as well, with multiple posting what their opinions are whether or not they are true. This also gives people the right to disagree and cause controversy. 

In this society, we have access to multiple viewpoints which is necessary for us to see everyone's opinions and enhance accountability. Like the previous value, this helps with the idea of being creative and showing their true self. Another important aspect is the idea of checking what we see online and gives us the ability to critique what we see.

In this day and age, our main form of getting ideas and opinions out there is social media. Platforms like TikTok, Twitter (now known as X), Instagram, etc. are vital applications for everyone, but people can post something that is not true. There are many sites that are not verified and can cause the spread of information that is not true. But, on the other hand if the topic is important, people will make sure to check their information beforehand. 

Although, everyone has the right to post opinions and voice their beliefs, celebrities and influencers definitely have a bigger voice than others, then creating their followers to listen to what they have to say, even if it is not true. But, despite the criticism of this theory, it is an essential concept unpinning many modern legal and philosophical interpretations of free speech and democracy. 

These two concepts are important to me especially in this day and age where social media is a vital platform for everyone. We are allowed to be creative and show our true selves. The fact we can share ideas and opinions freely is successful for us to make progress positively. This shows the importance of these speech theories and how we can speak and share the truth and learn more ideas, which I will stand by.