Quiet Censorship: Why Doesn’t Free Speech Feel Safe Anymore?

We all have opinions: Some we type out on social media platforms. But then we reread it and imagine how someone else might react. So we delete the social media post. Just the small action of deleting instead of sending is an echo chamber. 

Freedom of speech falls under the First Amendment, yet why do so many people feel pressured to even speak their mind? Who are they afraid is going to judge them?  Why can’t they just send the text message without fear or proudly stand holding the microphone?

With the division in today’s society, it’s not surprising that there’s a gap in freedom of speech. In fact, according to the Pew Research Center, in 2025, 59% of people globally said that having freedom of speech in their country was very important, yet only 31% said that speech was completely free in their country, according to the Pew Research Center. Why is there such a big gap in a right that is given at birth? 

Freedom of speech covers a multitude of levels. This includes spoken and written words, symbolic speech, and the right to not speak. Yet, in today’s society, some people may feel comfortable rage-baiting online, while simultaneously feeling like they feel like they can’t be fully honest with someone they’re close to in fear of being judged by society.  

But why is it that so many people feel like they are being judged by society? What has gotten society to this point? According to The Decision Lab, this feeling has a name: the spotlight effect. We can have an exaggerated view of our significance to others around us, often causing us to be hesitant about sharing perspectives with others. 

According to Washington University in St. Louis, this idea of self-censoring due to the fear of what others thought of others’ opinions has been tracked since the 1950s when the McCarthyism was heightened. During this time, speaking out could mean being labeled Communist, job loss, or imprisonment in some instances. During this time of McCarthyism, 13.4% of Americans said they participated in self-censorship. This number has tripled over the last 70 years. 

While there is no clear reason behind self-censorship, UNESCO found that there is an increasing number of people, including journalists, who are being attacked for speaking up on human rights. Marginalized groups like people of color, LGBTQ+, and with disabilities are afraid to speak the truth with the trends of legal pressures, online abuse, and physical danger rising when topics like human rights or environmental harm get brought up.  

Colleges across the U.S. have tried to combat self-censorship by creating safe zones for free speech to try to make people feel more secure in their campus environment. Elon University is one of them. With the Speakers Corner in front of the Moseley Center, it provides a designated safe zone. This means that it’s a designated public space on the college campus where political protesting and free expression are legally permitted, and the government cannot regulate the content of what someone says. But this only goes so far. Even with a dedicated physical safe zone, it doesn’t always guarantee it to be physiologically safe.

Sometimes silence feels safer, until it isn’t. Just as one word wrongfully said can turn harmful, one word left unsaid can be equally detrimental. So where is the line drawn between safety and danger?

Not everyone will agree with what we have to say, and not everyone sees the world like we do. But everyone has a voice. The microphone is still there. The words are still there. The choice to speak up is still there. 

So, the question isn’t if others are going to judge you for what you say, but rather if you are going to resent yourself for not speaking up when you had the opportunity to do so.

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