It seems as though, even in today’s age, many people don’t know
the reach and power of social media.
Although it seems like common knowledge, much of the population to forget
that anything they post online can be seen or downloaded by anyone from any
part of the world. But as we’ve seen recently,
social media can have a grave impact on someone’s livelihood.
If you’re unfamiliar with the story, former Newfoundland
radio personality Joel North was recently let go from his job with Coast 101.1
for a lewd comment directed toward a young woman on Twitter who was streaming
herself playing an online video game. North claims that the comment was simply
indicative of his “style of humour” and asserts that losing his livelihood due
to a “harmless joke sets a very dangerous precedent.” While many
have in fact chalked it up to being just
a joke, this situation hits home for a lot of us woman who use the Internet
on a daily basis.
I can’t keep track of the number of times my comments on
social media have been written off or deemed unworthy because I was being “too
emotional” or because I was “a fat ugly bitch”.
I can’t recall many instances in which men were met with the same
criticisms when posting on social media, but feel free to correct me if I’m
wrong.
Maybe it’s the feeling of being protected by a computer
screen, but social media seems to turn us into bullies. I’m certainly guilty of making a sarcastic
quip or two at someone else’s expense because I felt as though the
ramifications would be virtually non-existent.
Case in point: Drew Williams has posted some videos to his
Facebook page of his exchange with an obviously intoxicated woman presumably
walking back to her home in Newfoundland in her pajamas. One of the videos which features Williams
yelling “you stinks!” at the woman has garnered almost 4,000 likes. Williams has since photo
shopped a picture of the women leaning against a pick-up truck and is using it
as his profile picture. Some
of the comments on the picture read “She’s rotten” and “How much ya pay for dat”. Yesterday, Williams made this post on his Facebook page:
Sure, many people think it’s a lot of fun to mock somebody
who is perhaps down on their luck or to make sexual remarks to a stranger over
the Internet when the likes and the laughs are pouring in, but once the
negative consequences begin to rear their ugly heads, it seems it’s time to
play it off as a joke. What many don’t
realize, however, is that you are not only representing yourself on social
media, but your family, friends, and company as well.
Donald Trump is no stranger to our news feeds these
days. Isn’t it true that we tend to
think less of those who endorse Donald Trump’s presidential campaign? Wasn’t there a pouring of outrage when the
world found out that Kim Kardashian was considering voting for Trump?
Therefore, doesn’t it make sense that a company wouldn’t
want to associate with somebody who live streams themselves yelling at an
intoxicated woman on the side of the road in an attempt to make a mockery of
her? Wouldn’t you be wary about
associating yourself with someone who tells a young woman that she’d gain more
stream viewers if she took off her clothes?
Before the conception of things like Facebook and Twitter,
any hateful, derogatory, and/or inane comments one made could be forgotten in a
matter of hours and would only serve purpose to those who were present when the comment was made. But make a comment like that in this decade
and it’s embedded on the Internet until you have sense enough to take it down –
but don’t forget about the 14 people who managed to get a screen shot of it
before that, because they’ll probably be sharing it again.
I’m not saying social media is the root of all evil; I think
it’s fantastic that I can view pictures of my cousin’s new baby from halfway
across the country, and I can keep up to date with how my friends are doing in
different provinces. The point that I’m
trying to make is this: Social media is not your private journal; anybody can
see what you posted and privacy settings mean not a hell of a lot when your
friends are sharing what you’ve posted on your page. Treat social media as what it is: a way to
broadcast yourself to the world. Keep
your private life private, be respectful, and for the love of God stop sharing those
pictures of minions because they got unfunny like a year ago.
