March of 2009 is when I first signed up for a new form of social media known as Twitter. Unlike Facebook, it was a direct way for me to connect with my favorite celebrities. I initially laughed at the idea of a social media website that was “realtime”, but I went along with it because, well, I like being up to date on the current social media craze.
Fast forward four years later.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love Twitter. There is something very special having your favorite comedian, actor, musician, artist, etc., “reply” to you or even “follow” you for that matter. We live in a celebrity obsessed culture where Justin Bieber, for instance, can tweet a picture of his breakfast and somehow manage to accumulate over 100,000 “retweets” and “favorites.”
However, Twitter has become infected with people who take the first amendment a tad too far and utilize their freedom of speech in the worst ways possible. Don’t get me wrong, seeing different opinions is something I thrive on. Life would be boring without some differing views.
The problem regarding Twitter is that people are expressing their voice in the form of Twitter accounts that can be deemed as “hate” accounts. These particular accounts are unfortunately run by lost souls who probably haven’t even graduated high school yet and the worst part is, their parents most likely have no idea what their kid is posting.
Twitter does allow an option for blocking and/or reporting accounts, but the cycle continues regardless and more and more people are becoming victim to Twitter cyberbullying.
As a society that thrives on social media, I believe that more filters should be in place to protect people from falling victim to cyberbullying. Twitter continues to attract more users each and everyday, which is why these potential filters should come sooner than later.
Yes, I know it’s easier said than done but I do believe that a change can come to protect people from cyberbullying, with a special emphasis on Twitter.
Until next week,
Shaina
#StopBullying