Social Media Bullying-Toxic Reality Overview
Bullying means a persistent act intended to make life unpleasant for another person. Therefore, bullying is becoming a severe issue in well-mannered societies and all sectors of life. It leaves negative impacts on the social and mental health of any individual. So disrespecting others is not new in our community, and we have seen cases everywhere in our personal lives and even on social media.
The social media channel has transformed the lives of many to connect, share and interact with each other across the globe. Social apps became the voice of many and created plentiful opportunities for self-expression. Social media is the only platform where every user wants to present themselves as a model of perfection and well-being for online colonial society. It is true that social media is helping us share our captivating thoughts, and is also affecting the minds of teens and adults, distracting them mentally and their sleep cycle because of rumour spreading, unrealistic views and peer pressure on their minds. Moreover, the immense use of these social media platforms distracts mental health and causes social differences.
Everyone has had plenty of social experience with online behaviour, transphobic posts, comments and people joining debates on such topics. On the other side of this prospect, an algorithm is designed to engage the social community in controversial issues and let them spread some hate. Furthermore, people do bully each other with their lack of knowledge and accountability of themselves to express their thoughts they can say publicly.
Outcomes of Social Media Bullying:
Some of the outcomes of social media bullying are mentioned below:
§ Controversial Content
§ Homophobic & Transphobic expressions
§ Depression & Anxiety
§ Algorithm to engage people in bullying each other
§ Murderer and Suicide attempts
§ Toxic Behavior
What Do We Need to Stop Bullying?
Nobody can exactly say how we can uproot this evil, but there are some remedies we can demand from ourselves to adopt.
§ We must learn the word modification to identify and remove hateful comments.
§ Social media platforms should run some social ethics campaigns.
§ Every social media medium/app should develop strict codes of misconduct.
§ People who are spreading hate, controversy and harassing others.
§ There must be a checkpoint of accountability and transparency.
§ Let every user make sure their data is safe and encrypted.
§ An actionable mechanism is necessary to take strict action against the plaintiff.
Moreover, pictorial and text-based social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and especially Tiktok must have a checklist that there is a natural face behind every account and they are using it effectively. We should acknowledge ourselves to determine the boundaries of our thoughts and their impact on other lives. If we do so, we can reduce bullying, social discrimination and toxic behaviors.
Summing up my thoughts, we all have to keep our eyes open to avoid bullying others and make social media platforms as transparent as our real lives. Because nobody wants to disrespect himself, and in defending ourselves, we cross all the limits and feel peer pressure on our mental and physical health. So, respecting others and their words can make social media work for us and goodness.
