Sense & Sensibility in the Digital Age
It’s time to connect the dots.
In London, a woman named Caroline Criado-Perez campaigned for women in British history to be honored on Great Britain’s banknotes.
Hardly a revolutionary cause, and she was, lo and behold, successful.
On the day it was announced that Jane Austen would be the face on a newly designed 10-pound banknote, Criado-Perez began receiving anonymous rape threats on Twitter. So did the MP who supported her efforts.
A reporter at the Guardian this week wrote an article titled, “How to use the Internet without being a total loser.” The reporter wrote, among other things, that if you wouldn’t say something in front of your mom, perhaps it’s not a good idea to say it online.
She’s now getting bomb threats on Twitter. As are two other female reporters.
You can’t make this stuff up.
I’m trying to imagine what Jane Austen, whose novels of manners so brilliantly captured the social behavior of men and women in her time, would say about this age’s behavior on social.
This week, Twitter is in the eye of the camera (and the eye of the storm). An arrest has finally been made on grounds of harassment. The British police are also investigating the threats on reporters.
It’s clearly not just a Twitter problem. Facebook is grappling with how to manage pages and posts that are hateful. And so are any number of digital venues that, in the spirit of free speech, have made it easy for people to opine without consequences.
This unbridled online behavior is happening everywhere. New York’s poster boy for online abuse is, of course, Anthony Weiner, and his PR person seems cut from the same cloth.
In Italy, a 14-year-old girl committed suicide, humiliated by compromising videos posted on Facebook by her ex-boyfriend and the barrage of bullying comments by his friends. The Italian government has arrested the friends and is now investigating Facebook’s culpability for not responding to requests to remove the offensive material.
Some will, of course, continue to say that any attempt to limit speech is just the big scary hand of business or government clamped over the mouth of the masses.
But it’s time to get smart about this. Great intellectual debate moves us forward, makes us better and is welcome — at least by most. But the idea that we can say anything with impunity is absurd. And sometimes even deadly.
These recent events may be extreme, but you just have to connect the dots.
And the business community should be leading the way, not just making lame excuses.
INTERNET....V?RGUD
10 年Minu m?istus ja tunded samad , mis enne digitaalajastut, ei ole m?jutatav, olen vaid rohkem ?ppinud aru saama ja pyyan teha v?hem vigu......
Devgro Media Arts Services
10 年I support the various views shared in this fora..however, in as much that we would love to see a more responsible approach expressed by some of the world's population in the social media, my guess is since people are still growing and developing .. let's be optimistic and hope that one day we see this change...
Retired
11 年David: I think Ms. Austin would be grabbing her heart and gasping for air if she witnessed the lack of manners and decorum of today. The days of etiquette, respect, elegance of good penmanship I fear are long gone. I once read a letter from 1918 left in an old house I was restoring. It was from a soldier who was in Europe and he just found out he was not getting leave to come home for Christmas: “My dear, the pieces of my broken heart are so small they could fit through the eye of a needle for the want to see your lovely face on Christmas morn. Alas, it is not to be. My leave has been cancelled and I must due my duty. They are shipping me to somewhere in Germany. Please know that I love you and will write again soon. Pray my darling for this war to end and for me to come home to your loving arms.” This poor unfortunate soldier was killed in action on December 27th, 1918.
Community & Online Event Consultant | Social Media Strategist|Community Development|Digital Safety|Mentoring & Training|Co Author Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever
11 年May I add that I don't think we can necessarily blame the platforms for what people do on them - we do seem to live in a society forever seeking blame and not taking responsiblity. That said Facebook allow many sites who breach the terms of use to continue. Facebook is big enough to support moderators and to have a place where reports can be quickly addressed. I must say however, that I and some colleagues usually move quickly to report sites and if we do it all at once Facebook have been very good at removing the page. I have also had the reply that a site has not breached terms when i reported a site which made fun of beating and humilating women? I have no idea why, perhaps because they used cartooons it was deemed satire - it certainly was not. Comments were clearly quite hateful and violent towards women.
Communication officer and production photographer
11 年There's also the poor teen who took her life this week in the UK. Would making these platforms subscription make it more difficult for the trolls?