You’ve probably seen the Tweets or read the articles. They describe the latest victim of over-zealous fans harrassing a celebrity.
It’s unfortunate when this happens. Many people are passionate about many things and sometimes that passion leads to anger and resentment.
Social media, then, becomes an outlet for that anger. People may go from generally sharing their frustration to tagging an individual in their posts.
From there it may escalate to commenting directly on a celebrity’s posts. The posts become more and more spiteful as their attacks are ignored.
Finally, the person being harrasssed can take it no longer and leaves social media. The price of celebrity has finally taken its toll.
Social media gives fans and foes access to the people of our affection and anger like never before. It’s a tool that has enabled people to say and do unspeakable things.
It’s also given celebrities a platform to share vile comments with thousands of people instantly.
We all have a desire to feel wanted. We all want to share how we feel. Unfortunately, the 5-inch screens we use to communicate are impersonal.
Things we type on our smartphone would never be shared in “polite conversation”.
At the same time, our culture has to re-learn how to disagree. It is possible to disagree about something and still be polite. But that doesn’t get a reaction, does it?
Only the most extreme statments garner attention these days. Headlines and status updates have to grab viewers by the throat and drag them in.
The only possible solutions for some people are to either become just as gross and toxic as others or abandon social media completely.
People feel like the social media platforms are responsible for enabling this kind of behavior. While they may share a sliver of responsibility most of it lies with the individuals using it.
The toxicity that pervades social media is affecting the lives of our friends and family. What are we going to do about it?
Quit?
Fight back?
Stick our heads in the sand?
Maybe we could become more purposeful in our use of social media.
Social media is a powerful tool. It is misused by many.
How do you use it?
