Most sociologists would agree that after the introduction of various social networking sites, the user community considers then easier means to purge their dejection for any incidents or individuals in the public domain. I perceive the idea of expressing criticism on online platforms as an undesirable initiative and i will explain the reasons for my inclination in the following paragraphs.
Perhaps, the first and foremost cause to support my view point is the drawbacks of sharing comments on social media felt by the individuals objectified. By this i mean that, when a user is trolled for his/her posts, comments or any activity in a public or private place, members of shared communities often pass derogatory remarks showing animosity or anguish. The intensity of such criticism can vary; however, when it crosses a certain level, the victim might resort to extreme behaviours, such as experiencing psychological, sometimes leading to suicides or even committing heinous crime like murders. Take, for instance, the case of Kelvin Carter was made in famous for his gruesome photograph of an African child and a vulture. The other equally significant factor responsible for indicating the darker side of verbal eruption in social media interactions could be felt by society at large, as many media users do not seem to bother about verifying the content posted on several social media applications such as Facebook or Instagram. This means that the admins of WhatsApp community groups sometimes spread haox or rumours using fake news or doctored feeds to spread toxicity intentionally, eventually leading to social turbulence. For example, the public rage after one of the leading news papers relayed a decade old photograph of a war victim in Afghanistan to portray communal riots in India, just to instigate commotion. Thus, vehement opposition on social media can prove fetal for the community as the supporters would blindly advocate the messages without any conformity.
Conversely, it is argued that social media does help in communicating globally and it gives a platform to voice opinionsand concerns of the internet users, providing a unique leverage to today’s generation. Nevertheless, despite the benefits, the downsides of exchanging the negativity can lead to unnecessary arguments and eventually cause turmoil in the lives of individuals and the communities alike.
To conclude, it appears that although the claims are made favouring the notion that social media conveniently allows users to effuse their pessimism about events or individuals, making it easier to criticise, the fact remains that individual bullying and provocation at a societial level to spread aversion for an event or a person do not seem to align with the benevolent function presupposed for the social media usage.