ISU - Rily

Rily Byrne

Mrs Aultman

ENG 3U

December 9, 2015

Masked Infringement:

An Analysis of the Negative Effects Social Media Has Upon the World

There are currently 7.2 billion people on the planet and of those there are just over 3 billion active Internet users and nearly 2.1 billion which have social media accounts. It is clear that social media is a popular and influential source of information and opinions, however it also functions as a hub for people to gather and concentrate hatred as well as negativity upon others. Since social media has been created, concentrated hatred has been delivered and influenced with the use social media.

The torment Amanda Todd faced in regard to her online experience is a great example of concentrated hatred upon others delivered with the use of social media. Amanda Michelle Todd took her own life at the age of 15 at her home in Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to her death, Todd posted a video on youtube in which she used multiple flash cards to tell her experience of being blackmailed, bullied, and physically assaulted. In the photo (bellow), Amanda is holding a flash card that says:

   “Everyday I think why am I still here”.

She wrote that she experienced anxiety, depression, and panic disorder because of her experiences being sexually exploited online as well as being cyberbullied. Whilst her experience of being sexually exploited had little to do with social media, the cyber bullying which followed was based on social media. After moving multiple times, her tormentors continued their unappeasable assault which resulted in Amanda’s death. Ultimately, this photo of Amanda Todd demonstrates that social media is a permanent and unforgiving place in which hatred is easily spread and concentrated upon others.

Continuing, the cyber bullying Ryan Halligan faced is another strong example of how social media can be used in negative ways upon others. Ryan Halligan was an American student who committed suicide at the age of 13. The picture (bellow) is a photograph of Ryan Halligan.

Similarly to Amanda Todd, Halligan was relentlessly bullied. He was repeatedly sent homophobic messages across social media which strongly influenced his suicide in 2003. Following his death, Ryan’s father specifically stated, “that technology was being utilized as weapons far more effective and reaching [than] the simple ones we had as kids” (John Halligan). Many aspects of this unfortunate scenario further enhances the idea that social media can function as a threshold of hatred. Specifically Ryan’s age, which can be seen in the photo, as well as his father’s comment help clarify the injustice of cyber bullying.

In contrast to the way social media is used to specifically concentrate hatred on individuals, it can also be used to empower and spread the influence of terror organizations. On October 22, 2014 a 32-year-old man named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau fatally shot Corporal Nathan Cirillo and had a shootout with parliament security in the Centre Block parliament building. This shootout resulted in Zehaf-Bibeau being shot 31 times and dieing on the scene. The following is a picture of the attacker:

Zehaf-Bibeau had a Libyan-Canadian father and converted to Islam in 2004. However, it is argued that his intentions were extremely influenced by the vast social media coverage of the Wahhabi/Salafi jihadist extremist group, Isis. At a time when anyone is able to find videos of beheadings on social media sites such as youtube, it is extremely plausible for a habitual offender and drug addict to believe that an attack like this would be beneficial. Ultimately, this extreme act of violence demonstrates the power and reach social media has accross the world and how negative the outcomes can be.

In addition to the way social media influences negativity, it has perpetuated youth violence on multiple occasions. In the city of Rockford, Illinois juveniles have accounted for 40 percent of all arrests for aggravated discharge of a firearm and 39 percent of shooting victims. Whilst most of this youth violence is in relation to gang activity, the majority of school related aggression is rooted from social media. In a place such as Rockford where poverty is a major issue and unemployment rate is above eleven percent, gang-related crime is bound to exist. However, when students potentially have access to firearms and are aggravated by something stated by a classmate via social media the situation can rapidly escalate. The following photograph is a picture of an Illinois state trooper patrolling the streets:

The photo demonstrates that crime in Rockford is a very relevant factor. The fact that a lot of this crime is made up of youth influenced by social media, once again, demonstrates the influence and power social media has across the world.

In essence, it is almost naive to believe that social media is a harmless and victimless

computer-mediated tool. The fact is that social media has been used to, both, deliver and 

influence negativity upon the world in one way or another.