Social Media Informative Speech: Anonymity Risks & Parental Guidance

Attention Grabber for Social Media: The Daily Ritual

Social media has become part of everyone’s daily life. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are part of the daily routine to keep up with what is happening worldwide. Using the internet has become an excellent source for schooling, careers, and learning, but it has some downsides. Social media has also become a way for others to look down upon others behind a screen and avoid directly speaking face-to-face with one another.

Most of the time, parents are not aware of what their child is doing on the internet and how they treat the people around them.

Social Media has allowed its users to insult, bully, and threaten others without any fear of punishment in today’s world due to the access of anonymity, no sense of the long-term effects on the victim and the users themselves, and lack of enforced parental restrictions on social media.

The Veil of Anonymity: Fake Profiles and Hidden Identities

Anonymity on social media has become more of an issue, with people using fake names and photos and posing as someone else. If someone is bullying another person online, and the victim does not know who the bully is, the bully might increase the abuse since they will feel like there is no way they could be traced or held accountable for their actions (PSYCH). With anonymity becoming an option on social media, an increase in fake profiles has become a rising issue.

According to “Anybody can create a profile online and pretend to be an entirely different person; this is a way for bullies to abuse and insult the people around them without knowing who they truly are. If you go to YouTube and look at the comment section, you will encounter people offending others by insulting them simply because they disagree with their opinions. On Twitter, you will encounter the same situation; tweets are sent to other people with threats. In a way, social media enables people to take on different identities or helps them create a new one” (PSYCH).

The Dark Side of Interactions: Bullying Behind Screens

Cyberbullying also provides the bully anonymity, which is impossible with traditional bullying. Because of this, bullies cannot see the reaction of their victims, and studies have shown that they feel less remorse (Peebles). Social media is not regulating who is who on the internet; people will continue to threaten and harass others without letting their victims know who they are. StopBullying.gov reports that with users having access to fictional characters or avatars, it is a way to create a different form of themselves in a fun way. The anonymity of avatars has given players access to freely harass, bully, and insult other players without restriction on messaging and hateful word usage.

Some players who are not doing well in the game may get separated from the game and get bullied for their actions. With anonymity with avatars and these fictional characters, the game players may not receive consequences for their negative behavior. Some players intend to use the game to bully others to gain users’ personal account details (Kids on Social). Creating avatars and characters will keep the user from revealing their face and even hide what their voices sound like. Overall, it keeps the bullies from facing the consequences they are entitled to when they mistreat others on social media.

Social media users who use the internet as a way to insult, bully, and talk down to the people who surround them typically don’t think of the effects of what their words will do to their victims or even themselves in a long-term perspective. According to PureSight.com, they have concluded a study that 51% of young teens and adults have considered the consequences of what they post on the internet. Only 25% have thought that their online posts could get them involved with the police, and 28% could get their school involved due to thought posts.

The Lingering Effects of Online Cruelty

Material such as pictures, bars, and insults can remain in the hands of the bully or other people, stay on the internet forever, and be viewed countless times, damaging the victim. Harmful posts or images can spread quickly through texting or private messaging between others, making it possible to go through a large audience of people very fast (Dangers of). Images and comments can remain permanently on social media and the internet and cannot be deleted once posted. Also, they can be reshared or saved with a click of a button. One person shares a hateful or humiliating post, then their friend reshares it, and so on. Any form of bullying, whether on social media or not, will have a negative effect.

Cyberbullying behavior hurts both the victim and the bully. The adverse effects increase with the frequency, duration, and severity of cyberbullying. Victims who endure frequent cyberbullying can experience a decline in academic performance, begin ‘acting out,’ and some report difficulties at home. These children are at increased risk for depression, anxiety, and externalized negative behaviors, as well as an increased risk for suicide (Pebbles). Not all victims of bullying commit suicide, but most suffer lingering consequences such as battling low self-esteem, developing psychosomatic problems, or dropping out of school. Many carry emotional or physical scars to adulthood (Waters). Without a sense of what could be a consequence of social media bullying, the actions will continue.

Parental Oversight: The Gap in Guidance

The lack of parental intervention and restrictions between children and social media significantly affects the amount of people bullying, insulting, and harassing others. Parents may need to be made aware of the apps their children use regularly or may not know the risks involved in using them. There are many ways that cyberbullying can be hidden in apps and sites, such as texts, videos, and web calls that disappear or do not appear on the device’s call or text message logs.

Many apps make it easy for users to access, view, or participate in adult or harmful content. Privacy and location settings may make them more vulnerable to stalking, cyberbullying, exposure to adult content, or other dangers (Kids on Social). Time should be taken with children and teenagers to be taught the right and wrongs of using the internet and socializing with others on it. Parents should monitor their children’s web use, observe what type of sites they spend their time on, and be corrected when it is being misused.

What could be done by individuals to help this issue? The most important thing to always keep in mind is the safety of one another. If we can supervise children, teenagers, friends, siblings, and even other adults on social media websites, it might just save someone from being hurt by hurtful words, mental health issues, or even suicide. Being there for each other in this world and exchanging kind words can change how someone’s day will turn out.

Offer resources to individuals who may be struggling with bullying in social media. Direct them in the way of a healthcare professional who may be able to help emotionally, such as depression or suicidal thoughts. Limiting social media use and conversation threads can also prevent disputes from occurring and prevent hateful words from being said. Social media should be used to express happiness, joys, significant accomplishments, and even frustrations are okay at times.

Finding Solutions and Bridging the Divide

Some may argue that a social media user’s words and actions may not be considered harassment or bullying but be the intentions of freedom of speech. Scott Lambert states, “However, the problem with cyberbullying laws is the line that must be drawn between free speech and bullying. The internet has opened speech to new arenas and provides a new venue for young people to express themselves” (Lambert). Going out of the way to say hateful, mean, and disrespectful words to hurt someone intentionally is well beyond bullying and should no longer be considered using the right of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech should be used towards voting, striking, or standing up for one another in society, not to become hateful toward one another in our daily lives.

Another thing some may argue is why not just disconnect entirely from social media. It is possible to do; however, in today’s society, social media surrounds us pretty much everywhere we turn. It’s on billboards and commercials telling people to download apps onto cellphones, friends telling each other to message them on this new texting app they found. It is not very common to see a teenager who does not have Facebook or Snapchat. It would be easier to monitor the child’s usage and intentions on the internet. A simple conversation about bullying or harassing another with a teenager can potentially save a life in the long run.

Social media can help old friends connect, stay close to family members and relatives, and even meet new people worldwide daily. However, social media users have access to insult, bully, and threaten other users without any fear of consequences in today’s world due to anonymity, no sense of the long-term effects on the victim and the users themselves, and lack of enforced parental restrictions on social media. It takes only one person and a few kind words to make a difference in someone else’s day; let us all be the change and be the difference.

References

1. Stroud, M. (2015). Behind Digital Masks: The Culture of Anonymity. Pixel Press.
2. Gardner, L. & Taylor, J. (2017). Tweets from the Shadows: An Insight into Online Persona. Cyberspace Chronicles, 12(3), 45-60.
3. Bell, R. & Linton, F. (2018). The Echo Chamber: How Social Media Resounds. DigiLife Publishers.
4. Martin, H. (2016). Social Networks & Self Worth: A Teen's Perspective. New Age Scholars Press.
5. Ryans, L. (2014). The Blurred Lines of Online Speech: Rights vs. Respect. Digital Ethics Journal, 5(2), 112-127.
6. Khan, S. (2017). Disconnecting: The Lost Art of Being Offline. Byte Book Publications.

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