Have You Publically Shamed Someone Today?

Have You Publically Shamed Someone Today?

Public shaming is one of the purest forms of cyber bullying. Public shaming and cyber bullying can roughly be defined as the act of seeking to harm someone emotionally and ruin their reputation. In recent years both have been on the rise and are increasing in popularity. Public shaming and cyber bullying are commonly seen as separate offenses, but by spreading awareness and understanding how common both are, we can understand the threats the both pose. Before finding a solution to public shaming and cyber bullying, the problem itself has to be understood.

To better explain publically shaming, I draw from a BBC discussion on comedian Kyle Ayers who heard his neighbors breaking up on the rooftop patio of their home next door. Ayers sat on his roof for almost an hour tweeting play by play commentary of the feuding couple. Although Ayers’ only intention was probably good comedic material, he still imposed on the rights of his neighbors. This is public shaming and cyber bullying because if any of the couple’s friends and their fellow neighbors see any tweets from Ayers, they are going to think of the couple differently.  If Ayers comical and somewhat slanderous remarks got back to his neighbors they probably would have been hurt and offended by his actions.

According to a poll by Marketingland.com 94% of teens use Facebook and >26% of teens use Twitter daily. This remarkable number supports the claim that teens are spending a pretty good majority of their time on the internet interacting with peers through a screen and at times, anonymously. Buzzfeed.com reports that nine suicides last year were related to the use of social media website Ask.fm.com. That’s just one website among hundreds used by children, teens, and adults alike all over the world.

Cyber bullying is very common amongst all groups of people. Even if you think it doesn’t happen that close to home, take a look around, ask a high school student. It happens in numbers in populous amounts. I myself have personally experienced reading comments anonymously directed at me. Having a thick skin and knowing my true self, I didn’t let the comments of my immature peers get the better of me, but they still can sting. For most, cyber bullying and public shaming may seem like an action they would never partake in. The cruelty of posting a naked picture of someone is absolutely unacceptable. But, how often has one of us retweeted a meme making fun of a certain celebrity or liked a post on Facebook like this of Indiana Pacers player Anthony Davis.

 

The best way to stop cyber bullying and public shaming is to start with yourself. The fact of the matter is that cyber bullying and public shaming are easily disguised and funny. I’m guilty of it. All of us have the ability to stop cyber bullying. It just takes one person to make a commitment to discourage the activity when appears. During the teenage age years adolescents are very impressionable. If the tone that it is never acceptable to make fun of someone can be set now, we have the ability to change future generations. Setting children up early for success in treating people appropriately can be the difference between social media being used for the appropriate intended purposes, and it becoming a common outlet for malicious conduct.