1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.
  2. We've had very few donations over the year. I'm going to be short soon as some personal things are keeping me from putting up the money. If you have something small to contribute it's greatly appreciated. Please put your screen name as well so that I can give you credit. Click here: Donations
    Dismiss Notice

Social Media Shaming - Scourge or Panacea?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by Charlatan, Jul 30, 2015.

  1. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    Of late (the past few years, really) I have been noticing a shift in the way Social Media is being used.

    Let's face it, the Internet has shaped, and continues to shape the way we interact with each other. For many it has been a boon, for others it has been a complete nightmare. Social media, has connected us in ways that we have never before been connected. Individuals who in the past might have had a reach of their nearest friends, or maybe their peers, are now able to reach a Global audience in the course of a few retweets/reposts.

    There is no editor or publish that has a final say on what is published or shared, it's just an individual with a direct feed into the morass of the Internet. Social media, as a part of that Internet has a great ability to amplify us. Amplify of our voices. Amplify, frequently without context.

    A recent example:
    A lion is found to have been killed in Zimbabwe. It turns out that this lion is one of the protected lions and is very well known to tourists. This story is posted and shared and within a few retweets (some of whom are quite popular) the story is everywhere.

    So after, the name of the hunter is revealed and this hunter has killed many animals with his bow. He is American.

    Before too long, Social Media explodes with condemnation of this man.

    The man responds to say he had permits and trusted his guide.

    Too late, he is persona non grata. Right or wrong, the man has now been doxxed, death threats are flying, he is the lead story on many traditional media newscasts... etc.

    The story is still developing.

    Here is another example...
    A man is asked to make a speech at a conference. That man tells a humourous story, part of which verbally says the opposite of what the joke intended. A person in the audience tweets verbatim what the man said. Stripped of this verbal irony, the joke sounds sexist. The self-deprecating humour is lost or purposefully mistranslated by a person who shares it with their online audience. That online audience, without proper context, makes an assumption. They take the meaning at face value.

    What happens next is not pretty in the slightest. The man is pilloried in social media, and eventually loses his job and his standing within his community.

    As the dust begins to settle, it is made clearer that it was meant as a joke to break the ice in his speech. It was to reveal his antiquated ways of thinking, etc.

    There are many more example to cite...



    My point here is that this sort of thing is happening all over the Internet for any number of reasons. Internet Shaming is a growing trend that sees many people fall victim to their own missteps/out of context words/ill received humor/etc. and the power of the connected mob descends (in many different forms, from humourous (sarcastic tumbler pages) to doxing and death threats (and everything in between)). Some of these people might deserve what they are getting (note: I am not making a judgement, just playing the odds) but most are probably making a stupid off colour comment or having a bad day. They might deserve to be called on their comment, they might just need a hug...

    They most likely don't deserve the weight of the Internet's scorn on their shoulders.



    Social media amplification is great. It gives people a voice. It overpowers the traditional media by granting access in a non-hierarchal way.

    Social media amplification is a scourge. Its immediacy and scale takes what would have been a small story and makes it Global before context can catch up.

    So what do you think about Internet Shaming? Can you think of examples where it has done some good? Do you think it's even a problem? If you think it's a problem, any suggestions on how to shape it or get rid of its influence altogether?
     
    • Like Like x 2
  2. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    It can go both ways...hell, ALL ways.

    People are flighty and fickle...and react with presumption. (including authority figures and people of influence)
    It's the same in real life and it's happened to me.

    Comes down to "managing expectations"
    Is this fair?? No.
    But it is a necessity.

    The web just exaggerates a real life condition, by volume & anonymity.
    Question is can you manage it?
     
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Borla

    Borla Moderator Staff Member

    The biggest harm I see is that it has randomly, and exponentially, increased the penalty for saying or doing something stupid or wrong.

    On rare occasions that is a good thing. Most of the time it is a knee jerk reaction that crushes someone's life unnecessarily.

    Definitely a double edged sword. One that, like just about everything else powerful man has created, does at least as much harm as it does good.

    No idea how to fix it, though I'd say the social media portion of the problem is just a reflection or symptom of societal problems that already existed.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  4. Plan9

    Plan9 Rock 'n Roll

    Location:
    Earth
    Social media, you say? KONY 2012!!!
    ...

    Scourge. The mania associated with gotcha social media helps nobody.

    Taking things out of context, turning 90 minute talks into 140-character Tweets.

    Whole thing has fueled the pussy-ass "I'm offended!" society we're knee deep in as of 2015.

    Every hipster critic that spews pop culture sarcasm like Juno is now the focus, not actual news.

    It's gonna get to the point that nobody worth a damn is going to want to be the face of anything. Too risky.

    ...

    We have way too many people going on national TV to apologize for shit that they shouldn't even apologize for in the first place.

    As my woman once pointed out: The modern media has made everyday life into a season of The Bachelor... two months of footage rolled into 10 episodes.
     
    Last edited: Jul 30, 2015
    • Like Like x 3
  5. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    Here's a great example of this: http://nyti.ms/1FC8BfG

    The article primarily looks at the case of Justine Sacco, a publicist who made a racially insensitive tweet on her way to South Africa. “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” By the time Sacco landed in South Africa, she had pretty much lost her job.

    The writer from Gawker who posted her tweet on their site writes about it here: Justine Sacco Is Good at Her Job, and How I Came To Peace With Her

    Here's the thing I think we forget: these are people. Real, actual people. While I don't feel a lot of sympathy for cases like the lionkiller, I think the Power of the Internet allows us to divorce ourselves from the concept that we are doing this to another person.

    As Sam Biddle from Gawker says here, about the Justine Sacco case:

    Many of you know what I do for a living, and as part of that, I've had to spend a lot of time studying bullying, looking at bullying, and teaching kids about bullying. Plain and simple, this kind of behavior is a form of bullying. People who engage in these behaviors on the Internet are doing it not because of the other person, but because it makes them feel better about themselves. Monica Lewinsky had this to say in Vanity Fair: “It’s a strange combination of schadenfreude and othering people." Monica Lewinsky Talks to Jon Ronson About Online Bullying and Social-Media Shaming | Vanity Fair

    And then, as @Plan9 said, it ends up on television, and well, that's that.

    I'm an avid user of Twitter, and I operate by one principle (unless I'm complaining to a major corporation about their customer service--looking at you @Comcast): Keep it positive. I write beer reviews. If I drink a bad beer (and I've had my share of bad snooty microbrews, 9er), I just don't tweet about it. Generally, those who follow me know that if I tweet that I'm out somewhere for a beer, and nothing follows, well...It's a simple conclusion, without any of the inherent negativity from saying, "Hey, @SierraNevada, your latest iteration of Base Camp was really terrible--skunky off-flavors galore" or ".@NewBreweryFromCentralOregon, you might want to do a better job of cleaning your equipment. This batch of amber tasted like iodine." This means I also don't do politics.

    It's not much, but it's the little part I can do, so I do it. I wish more people would stop and consider their actions before engaging in these kinds of behaviors, but honestly, being able to do that (perspective-taking, empathy), those are higher-order socioemotional skills that need to be retaught in high school (puberty kind of resets the brain regarding socialization) that we don't have time to reteach--unless we say we are trying to combat bullying. It's a shame, really.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  6. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    I think it's this plain and simple. The people that try to punish or do harm using the media, taking words out of context, presenting a view point to the world that was never intended is now what we are stuck with. Many times I have looked on my life and realized that I could tell my tale in so many different ways. I am hell bent on being a good person and fall short often. If someone was to pick and choose, then post it, I could be the worlds biggest asshole or just a great guy. The TFP is my first and only forum, I am still learning how to move around in it. I don't use Facebook or anything else. My phone is a phone no internet but I can text. I like texting. When @Plan9 said that good people won't want to take a public lead due to the media using a knife to cut out the good parts and make them look bad......I believe is true. All people have so many different sides to them, the one side that could make a difference is held back because of the mistakes they may have made. If we researched the posters it would probably turn our stomachs.
     
  7. Chris Noyb

    Chris Noyb Get in, buckle up, hang on, & be quiet.

    Location:
    Large City, TX
    We live the age of instant information, and instant reaction.

    Never underestimate the pack mentality of human beings. Especially those who consider popularity on SM to be a key component of their lives.

    When on SM, it's best to think very carefully when writing your comments, and rethink them even more carefully before hitting send.

    Sometimes not being a joiner means not getting invited to the pool party; other times it means not ending up a cesspool.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    An article dealing with this issue, or at least part of it. Outrage. But also, outrage v Superiority.

    Elsewhere people on TFP have, in the case of Internet Shaming, or similar activities, asked, Why aren't people showing how wrong this is? Perhaps this greater force of Superiority explains it.

    From Cecil the Lion to Climate Change: A Perfect Storm of Outrage Oneupmanship - The Atlantic

     
  9. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    I must admit to some over hasty posting on this very site, sounding being much more harsh that was called for and then feeling it necessary to publicly apologize.:( I proved that it is not necessary to be male to be a dick.;)
     
    • Like Like x 2
  10. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    • Like Like x 1
  11. Shadowex3

    Shadowex3 Very Tilted

    The best example I ever heard was about twitter, I'll paraphrase it here: On twitter I can say something that's a slap in the face to thousands upon thousands of people. The response is that thousands and thousands of people slap me back across the face.

    The thing is this isn't a problem inherent in social media. It's a problem inherent in how we use it. Participating in "Social Media Shaming" or whatever you want to call it is a conscious choice by everyone involved. It's carried out by people who truly believe they're doing the right thing for the right reasons... that there are no wrong methods only wrong targets. It's a symptom, not a disease.

    Social Media is not an actor, it has no independent will or movement. The problem isn't social media, it's the toxic worldview and morality of the people who use it. If people's worldview and morality required them to stop and ask "Is this true? What proof do I have? What are the appropriate consequences if it is true?" we wouldn't have these problems. This applies doubly so to those whose profession is the promulgation of news and information, and whose words are treated as authoritative.
     
    Last edited: Aug 2, 2015
  12. Blacky_Graves

    Blacky_Graves New Member

    Location:
    Zimbabwe
    completely agree that internet shaming is wrong and many of the examples you've given show that for the most part. With regards the lion issue though, I believe (as someone who has closely seen treatment of wildlife in Zimbabwe) that this dentist deserves these attacks. Illegal poaching is a common crime in Zimbabwe, of this I'm sure most of us are aware. Many celebrities and conservationist organisations are constantly spreading awareness about this. Most hunters that come to Zimbabwe come for this very reason, or are at least aware of the dishonesty and how it links to corrupt government officials.

    look at this way, if I went to Somalia for a sexual experiance, slept with a 14 year old girl only to realise after that her ID was fake. I may not be arrested since I can claim I was deceived but some part of me must have known about underage sex trafficking before I went there or did the deed. For these people, public internet shaming can be the only justice.

    maiming a lion with arrows before chopping it's head off is animal cruelty no matter where you are in the world. Doing it in a country famous for its illegal poaching industry, run by park owners that forge hunting licences and get protected by the politicians they pay off is evil.

    Finally a case where such a famous lion is killed that the public backlash has scared of any "would be" political protectors from coming near it. I say thank you to all who shamed this man. shame on the men who forge documents to make money of killing national wildlife and shame on their enablers who come to hunt in a country like this and not bother to check how authentic their licenses are.
     
  13. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    Obviously social media isn't an actor. Why would anyone suggest that? It's like saying cars are killing people when we know it's the people driving the cars that are the agents.

    What I am trying to get at isn't about specific people with aces to grind. They will find a way to get their message out, or to extend the killer car analogy, murder.

    It's my belief that technology shapes the way we see the world and how we interact with it. Just as a pedestrian who is cut off on the sidewalk might say, excuse me, and continue walking that same person in a car resorts to road rage. Studies suggest the isolation and distance the car provides from others changes how we interact. I would suggest the anonymity of social media facilitates the kind of behaviour we are seeing.

    I don't see this as terrible people but rather, just like the car driver with road rage, ordinary people in a specific situation.

    I'm still thinking about this.
     
  14. Shadowex3

    Shadowex3 Very Tilted

    See I would suggest that the problem is the particular culture of driving in the US, compare driving in germany and you'll see far more professional behavior.
     
  15. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    There are just as many road rage stories in Asia. I would suggest Germany is an outlier.
     
  16. Street Pattern

    Street Pattern Very Tilted

    Actually, in the U.S., statutory rape is a strict liability crime. If you, an adult, engaged in sexual activity with a minor below that state's age of consent, you are guilty, period.

    It doesn't matter if the young person looked to be 45 and had a driver's license to prove it. Your sincere belief that he or she was of age is legally irrelevant. Only his or her actual chronological age matters.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2015
  17. Shadowex3

    Shadowex3 Very Tilted

    It probably is but that's orthogonal to my point that germany has a driving culture which does not produce the kind of regular road rage we see in the US.
     
  18. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    There may be something else at work in Germany -- better road structure, better drivers Ed -- my point stands, they are outliers.

    I maintain that people are generally well intentioned. Technology has an influence on how we interact with each other.

    The TFP was once a very difficult place but over the years as people became less anonymous, the tone of interaction shifted to be better.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
    • Like Like x 2
  19. redravin

    redravin Cynical Optimist Donor

    Location:
    North
    I think that the net is maturing too.
    It's really just a teenager now which explains why it tends to react to things in such an emotionally frantic way (or in the we're too cool for the room fashion that is every bit as annoying).
    Give it some time to grow up and I think you will see a lot of this behavior looked back on with a great deal of embarrassment.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  20. spindles

    spindles Very Tilted

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    I think people are also quick to re-tweet/share on Facebook things that they see - this means they are taking the original tweet/post at its face value. This is especially true of hoax type posts, but just as much with piling on "shaming" posts. Hopefully, we'll soon reach a point where the majority of people engage their brain and see a lot of these for what they are - just noise.

    To be honest, however, I don't feel a lot of sympathy for the lion killer. Even with a guide, I'm not a big fan of hunting :( But, I don't think it is my place to re-tweet about it.
     
    • Like Like x 2