Social Media and Its Pitfalls
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Beyond its success at connecting people and disseminating much needed information, one of social media’s greatest successes is turning otherwise logical individuals into raving loons. Its main draw of instant connection and communication also means that for many a user, social media use is an activity characterized by split second decision-making. The proliferation of social media use across the world has given rise to the ‘Noosphere’, which is described as ‘a global brain formed by the sum of all the human brains connected through the internet’. According to experts who have been studying its proliferation over the years, the general consensus is that these social media platforms designed for the purpose of celebrating the ‘Noosphere’ have also given rise to bad elements in humanity and the human conscience. Trolling has become an inevitable consequence of social media use. And it has been suggested that many platforms compel the ‘bad actors’ within us.
Name any social media app and you are likely to recall off the top of
your head an incident or two involving some major or minor personality
posting something horribly disrespectful or just downright offensive.
Social media seems to work like truth and dumb serum all wrapped in one,
not only exposing what we truly think but just how ignorant most
thoughts we choose to spew on social media are. Experts say that the
built-in feature of anonymity has given rise to paper tigers. Rebels
without a cause, who are more likely to attack others on social media
forums based on personal prejudices or unfounded accusations. All forms
of discrimination have also found a happy home on many a social media
platforms.
In this day and age, most forms of discrimination and hate speech are not only discouraged, but carry a hefty fine or stiffer penalties in most countries. This however has not deterred those who feel the need to spew hate against others. Rather than hate being alive and well, sitting next to you on a bus or yelling at you down the street, it has now found a happy home where it thrives mostly unchecked on social media. That is, until attention is called to it by ‘woke’ people determined to root it out.
One of the most recent high profile instances of to come out of the United States for instance even involved the police. Several members of the Philadelphia police force were discovered to have been members in a private Facebook in which they used derogatory language such as characterizing members of the African American community as ‘thugs’. They were subsequently put on suspension with an aim of dismissal. Perceived anonymity has undoubtedly emboldened certain bad faith actors on social media platforms to spew and promote messages of hate and allow forms of discrimination to continue to thrive.
Second only to anonymity is the perceived awareness of an ever-present audience ready to ravenously devour any and all content presented to them without any need for fact-checking. Social media users take a decidedly piranha-like approach to the consumption and synthesis of information, taking fragments and quotes without any regard for their provenance, without any fear of consequence should the information they are reacting to or sharing turns out to be false or offensive. Nowhere is this truer than with foreigners in various parts of the world.
In China for instance, censorship means that most of Chinese netizens are effectively cut off from other more mainstream western social media platforms, which emboldens those who feel the need to share less-than-savory opinions of Chinese society. The supposed firewall emboldens these ne’er-do-wellers to go a step further with how they spew ignorant comments online.
There have been several such instances of foreign nationals spewing their ignorance or hate towards the Chinese being widely shared, with often strong reactions from the Chinese public. Mark Kolars, who works for the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) found himself suspended just this past Tuesday after wildly racist posts made on his LinkedIn account came to public limelight. His tirade included sentiments of alleged Chinese genetic inferiority, calling Chinese men ‘dirty yellow guys’ and encouraging the Chinese nationals to ‘diversify their gene pool’ by having offspring with non-Chinese individuals. He also claimed European men’s superiority in matters d’amour as he claimed that European men are the preferred choice for most Chinese women. Even though he later issued an apology, he had already sparked the ire of Chinese netizens who are yet to be appeased by his suspension and continued to demand for his dismissal and subsequent deportation from the country. And it would appear that the netizens have won out in this current fight, as it has since been reported that Kolars has been fired.
This is far from the only case of foreign workers getting their proverbial foot in their mouth. A little more than a year ago, screenshots surfaced of an Instagram post of a urinal with a pool of what one would assume to be urine underneath, with part of the caption reading “…someone please teach Chinese men to aim”. The Instagram account in question was linked to the then manager of the Rosewood Beijing Hotel, who was accused of racism and unfairly characterizing Chinese men in his post. Even though the individual, later identified as Robert Sexton, offered a handwritten apology with the Hotel also issuing a statement to the effect of action will be taken pursuant to the incident, it is safe to say that was not enough to appease the ire of the netizens.
Chinese netizens’ anger isn’t something to be trifled with. It has been enough to bring even large brands such as Dolce and Gabbana to its virtual knees within the Mainland China. Following an ad perceived as racist by the general Chinese public, Stefano Gabbana himself took to social media to placate the outcry. But soon his tact of appeasement went out the window as he took a decidedly racial and deeply offensive tone, declaring that China was ‘the land of Sh**’, something that he promised to proclaim for the foreseeable future. The response from Chinese netizens was swift and effective. Thanks to the public outcry, a Dolce and Gabbana fashion show slotted to happen in Shanghai was cancelled. Later, Stefano claimed that his Instagram account had been hacked but the damage had already been done.
The offense goes both ways however, that should go without saying. Many a foreigner in China have themselves fallen victim to racist, insensitive or ignorant comments online at the hands of Chinese netizens. The problem of not fully weighing one’s actions and their possible reactions online is certainly a universal problem not specially tied to one group or social media platform. One thing that is however evident, is that these momentary lapses have far-reaching consequences.
This is far from a trend reserved for the older generations. Younger and younger social media users are falling prey to vicious nature of social media interactions. Social media has not only become a place perfect for spewing hate, it has also become the setting for cruel bullying against otherwise innocent children. Hardly a day goes by in most countries without an incident or other of a child committing suicide as a result of persisted and concentrated cyberbullying. Concerned parents the world over worry about the future of their children and just how much they might be exposed to when left to their own devices when using social media. But the older generation can hardly be used as role models given our own shortcomings in this particular area. It therefore behooves all of us who choose to use social media, to follow a simple set of commonsense rules guaranteed to check our bar social media habits at the proverbial ‘post’ door.
1
Don’t put anything on the Internet that you don’t want your future boss, current client or potential clients to read. – this is a commonsense rule that is as easy as it is important. The past has a way of ruining the present. The last thing you need is a bad decision in your youth coming back to haunt you.
2
Never post when you’re overly-tired, jetlagged, intoxicated, angry or upset. Let’s pretend to be surprised by the fact that alcohol and social media don’t mix. One too many might lead to one too far.
3
Use a different profile or account for your personal connections. Business and pleasure do not mix in this medium – though this is allows one to separate personal and professional sentiments, it is still advisable, in the case of those who have unsavory opinions to keep them to themselves even in the event of two separate accounts.
4
Don’t turn your social media profile into your own personal pulpit – no one is interested in being proselytized to. It is good that you have great conviction in whatever it is you consider that important, but be prepared to understand that others might not feel the same way.
5
Don’t turn social media into your own personal complaint forum – Despite how cathartic it might feel, the momentary high might not be worth the repercussions of your words or actions on social media when you feel a much deserved venting is deserved.
Photos: buffer.com GreatSchools nicknotas.com , The Beijinger WCBI vox.com, giphy, unsplash
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