The wild west of the Internet
Controversies stemming from the ultimate
freedom on the Internet are nothing short of
surprising. Internet freedom is now a hot
topic in various state governing bodies, with
surveillance becoming more and more of a
reality and corporate interests severely limiting
the things we took for granted long ago.
With this incredible amount of free will and connectivity, we're also seeing the rise of a dark face that goes along with anonymous personas. Harassment is pervasive and, in most cases, dangerous when it comes to these online masks. Topics of discrimination in cyberspace have caused quite the stir on social media and they seep their way into mainstream news every so often.
In Amanda Hess' brave and extremely indepth look into online harassment, she outlines that we're beginning to realize that these issues are going beyond simple Internet trolling. In the article “Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet,” published January 6 by the Pacific Standard (readable in its entirety at tinyurl.com/womenunwelcome14) , Hess details some of the most horrific and terrifying ordeals she faced after her Twitter account came spontaneously under attack by some of the most despicable people on the web. She received death and rape threats with disturbing detail.
These aren't isolated incidents, as Hess explains. She offers more examples of outspoken women who have been the target of abuse and the statistical reality that puts female users at a greater risk of being targeted than their male counterparts. Still, this sort of cruelty doesn't even limit itself to gender discrimination. Online hostility includes racial, homophobic and ableist bile that has pushed people as young as 14 years old to take their own life when things spiral out of control.
Jamey Rodemeyer was one of these people. In 2011, he killed himself after he made a video contribution to an anti-bullying campaign on YouTube. Rodemeyer faced abuse at school and online, which further influenced his final and tragic decision. Those who tormented him online and arguably those in his school life will never face charges for their actions and our social priorities put them off as just “boys being boys.”
In response to incidents such as this, Fanshawe student Ethan Ready shared his thoughts on the powers of anonymity: “The Internet has become a weapon for what would be otherwise cowards ... The Internet has resulted in so many people to make the unfortunate decision to commit suicide. Yet, trolling still continues.”
We must ask how far this is going when we start to see eye-opening articles on this topic being pushed more to the forefront of discussion. As students, we're part of the Internet Age and we spend most of our time in front of some form of technology that is connected to this web. Through social media, we become blips of traffic that is absorbed and condensed into raw data for advertising companies and large corporate enterprises, yet at the same time, our presence on it has crippled totalitarian regimes and allowed information to reach us like never before.
We're seemingly very aware of the Internet's power, but with this sort of power, we need to rationally discern where our priorities lie and how to combat things like discrimination to show that social responsibilities can be put in the hands of the commoner and not some government body. When we start to allow dominating privileged norms to become fully present, we're allowing our own freedom to crumble. How? By marginalizing people and disregarding their opinions on the grounds of being “too sensitive,” we fail to create alliances that could work toward building a better future for all.
Freedom at its heart collectively encompasses our right to be who we are without having to worry about being oppressed, discriminated against or slandered. This sounds simple, but I believe that we have a very long way to go before we understand that freedom is not only limited by government laws and regulations.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
With this incredible amount of free will and connectivity, we're also seeing the rise of a dark face that goes along with anonymous personas. Harassment is pervasive and, in most cases, dangerous when it comes to these online masks. Topics of discrimination in cyberspace have caused quite the stir on social media and they seep their way into mainstream news every so often.
In Amanda Hess' brave and extremely indepth look into online harassment, she outlines that we're beginning to realize that these issues are going beyond simple Internet trolling. In the article “Why Women Aren't Welcome on the Internet,” published January 6 by the Pacific Standard (readable in its entirety at tinyurl.com/womenunwelcome14) , Hess details some of the most horrific and terrifying ordeals she faced after her Twitter account came spontaneously under attack by some of the most despicable people on the web. She received death and rape threats with disturbing detail.
These aren't isolated incidents, as Hess explains. She offers more examples of outspoken women who have been the target of abuse and the statistical reality that puts female users at a greater risk of being targeted than their male counterparts. Still, this sort of cruelty doesn't even limit itself to gender discrimination. Online hostility includes racial, homophobic and ableist bile that has pushed people as young as 14 years old to take their own life when things spiral out of control.
Jamey Rodemeyer was one of these people. In 2011, he killed himself after he made a video contribution to an anti-bullying campaign on YouTube. Rodemeyer faced abuse at school and online, which further influenced his final and tragic decision. Those who tormented him online and arguably those in his school life will never face charges for their actions and our social priorities put them off as just “boys being boys.”
In response to incidents such as this, Fanshawe student Ethan Ready shared his thoughts on the powers of anonymity: “The Internet has become a weapon for what would be otherwise cowards ... The Internet has resulted in so many people to make the unfortunate decision to commit suicide. Yet, trolling still continues.”
We must ask how far this is going when we start to see eye-opening articles on this topic being pushed more to the forefront of discussion. As students, we're part of the Internet Age and we spend most of our time in front of some form of technology that is connected to this web. Through social media, we become blips of traffic that is absorbed and condensed into raw data for advertising companies and large corporate enterprises, yet at the same time, our presence on it has crippled totalitarian regimes and allowed information to reach us like never before.
We're seemingly very aware of the Internet's power, but with this sort of power, we need to rationally discern where our priorities lie and how to combat things like discrimination to show that social responsibilities can be put in the hands of the commoner and not some government body. When we start to allow dominating privileged norms to become fully present, we're allowing our own freedom to crumble. How? By marginalizing people and disregarding their opinions on the grounds of being “too sensitive,” we fail to create alliances that could work toward building a better future for all.
Freedom at its heart collectively encompasses our right to be who we are without having to worry about being oppressed, discriminated against or slandered. This sounds simple, but I believe that we have a very long way to go before we understand that freedom is not only limited by government laws and regulations.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
