The Streisand Effect: Is This the Problem With Social Media?

Is it just me or have we always been generally annoyed with social media since it was created? Facebook came along in the early 2000s, but before that, there were chat rooms and message boards. Even further prior to that weblogs (now known simply as blogs) were home for anyone with an internet connection to scream from the rooftops about anything and everything they wanted to.

Countless times these spaces have been used to advocate AGAINST something that most readers have otherwise never known about. These niche issues that had no organic support all of a sudden had pro-(you name it) people.

This phenomenon is called The Streisand Effect. I went on a deep dive into the history of this after reading a tweet from billionaire and star of ABC's SharkTank Mark Cuban.

But what is The Streisand Effect and what does Barbra Streisand have to do with it? It stems from a legal fight the singer had with photographers trying to publish photos of her California estate. Streisand lost the case, but in the process, drew more attention to the fact that it was her house.

Imagine your child doesn't want their siblings to see their drawing, but they tell them not to look. The curious kids will become more interested and share the drawing, making it well-known. It's like a big secret that everyone wants to know, but they wouldn't even care otherwise! In the same way, when people or companies try to keep information hidden, like on social media, it can backfire. More people end up finding and sharing the information because of the attention drawn to it.

So what's the moral of this story? Your social media posts AGAINST something may actually end up netting more support FOR it.