The Trouble With Social Media Is.....

"We have already begun to notice another view of technological development, one that transcends the empirical and moral shortcomings of cause-and-effect models. It begins with the recognition that as technologies are being built and put to use, significant alterations in patterns of human activity and human institutions are already taking place [...] Technological innovations can radically alter common patterns and on occasion generate entirely new ones, often with surprising results." In the section of his essay titled "Beyond Impacts and Side Effects", Langdon Winner asserts this theory about how new technology is shaping our daily lives. The examples he gives aren't wrong, but while reading this I felt like there were other examples more relevant to daily life that proved his theory with more significance and relatability than how often we watch television or transportation. The example I'm talking about is how social media and the anonymity it offers us has changed the way we approach conversation, specifically when the conversation turns into a debate. In class today, we mentioned how a simple comment can spark heated, and sometimes violent, responses that are often extreme compared to what the comment was originally about.

The woman in this picture is model Stefanie Michova, who's dating a famous Korean rapper. The comments below are from anonymous individuals on the internet (referred to as "netizens" in slang) after they saw her in a video portraying a flirtatious relationship with two Korean artists. I used this example because the hate and threatening comments the netizens left to her were definitely not things they would ever say to Stefanie's face. In fact, these are things they might not even dare to say in the presence of other people unless they were certain the group they were in felt just as strongly as they did. But violent comments like these have become a common part of digital interactions, even on social media like Facebook where one is usually restricted to using their own name. Through digital interactions, people are able to say whatever they want without fear of being held accountable for their words later because the people they're speaking to have no idea who they are. The fans that left these comments are most likely regular South Koreans that are fans of the artists Stefanie appeared with, meaning she could go her entire life without ever meeting them. Even if she did, she couldn't know they were responsible for the hateful comments because the names and photos used weren't their own. The internet, specifically social media, has allowed individuals to hide behind false names and black and white silhouettes and verbally assault and defame whoever they want without ever facing any form of punishment for their actions. Sure there will be someone that responds to their comments like Stefanie did, but that doesn't guarantee that they won't keep leaving similar comments. Even if the social media administration were to deactivate the accounts used, netizens could easily create another account and leave the same hateful comments as long as they have another phone number or email not attached to a social media account. What's alarming about this recent development is the fact that there is no guarantee that these netizens can't always be prosecuted for the consequences of their actions. In America, this is called cyber bullying which is now punishable by law. But how do you deal with a cyberbully when the victim is an American student and the bully is someone posting with a false name, from who knows what city, state, or country? They could be anyone from any country, and that likelihood actually increases with international articles like this one.

(P.S. If anyone wants to see the full article, here's a link.)