This is a very broad topic and
some smart person could probably do a doctoral thesis on this subject. The
internet is an amazing technological gift and I don't think anyone envisioned
the sort of potential it had when in its fledgling state. The ability to
connect people from all over the world in real-time has unlocked an unprecedented
global community.
It's facilitated the Arab Spring, which the jury is still out
on whether that is going to turn out to be a good thing or a bad thing. We've
seen a young woman (Justine
Sacco) vilified for making an off-color tweet in a poor attempt at humor
that cost her job and ruined her reputation. We've seen young people commit
suicide because of cyber-bullying. Harassment and death threats are rampant.
And what is turning into a horrible custom--people jumping on the bandwagon of
something they have very little knowledge of and creating a mob mentality. All
of these things have happened and are happening, and it's sickening. Gamergate, Puppygate, leftwing vs. rightwing politics, I don't even want to get started on
the details, but these things impinge on my daily visit to the web. News
spreads at a viral pace now and people don't bother to take the time to see if
things are true or not, they just take at gospel because everyone else says
it's horrible. It must be bad if so many people say it is. It's as if a
"journalist" from a gossip magazine is running the internet.
Why is it we want to believe the
worst in everyone? The corporate world is not immune either (Examples
of Social Media Crisis.)
And here is the worst part. If
you speak out against something you are inviting the hordes to your doorstep.
In some cases, literally. I'm hesitant to take a stand on any issue now. Who
needs that kind of drama in their life? I know I don't, but I do think about
stuff, and want to take a stand on things I feel strongly about without being
singled out as the target du jour. Free speech should mean we all get to have a
say, and be able to do it in a civil manner.
