Sitting at the whiteboard tables in my sixth grade classroom, D.A.R.E. Officer Wolf warned my classmates about cyberbullying, social media and all things phone-related.
As a 12-year-old with my mom’s old iPhone 6 who was only allowed to text my family and best friend, it was the first time I’d ever thought about the potential consequences of my online presence.
The advice that stuck with me most is that what you put online stays there forever. Now, I’m reminded of that with every rude comment or tabloid that I scroll past.
I was recently reminded of Wolf’s lesson when Kanye West tweeted an anti-Semetic comment that vastly spread around social media — leading to his ban from Twitter within minutes.
These recent events leave me wondering if people know the difference between sharing an opinion and spreading hate. Are they aware of the consequences?
West joins former president Donald Trump, actor Scout Willis and internet celebrity Andrew Tate who have all been locked out of their social media accounts for being blatantly hateful, violating these platform’s community guidelines. They justify their actions by claiming that their accounts are a free place to share their thoughts, but that’s not a good reason to spread harmful messages to a following of up to 20 million people.
Racism, anti-Semitism and sexism from celebrities affects real people, not just their own reputation. Their highly influential position inspires crude comments and can lead to hateful crimes.
A verified account can receive thousands — if not millions — of likes and comments within hours, each symbolizing a real person behind a screen. Online hate spreads like a virus.
With an out-of-line post like West’s — people who see it tend to repost or comment on other social media platforms about it, making the post even more likely to be viewed online. Even if the post is deleted, videos commenting on them can’t be taken down due to the user’s right of free speech.
If you search West on TikTok, almost every recent video is remarking on his tweet. Those will be there forever.
Posts that go against the platform’s guidelines on “never condoning violence, threats of violence or verbal or emotional abuse” should be expected to be deleted with the account possibly being banned.
This goes for typical users with 50 to 500 followers, too. You don’t have to be verified to get your account banned for encouraging discrimination or violence. Although you might not have as many followers as a celebrity, if a post is obviously offensive, it will get taken down.
Accounts with hateful posts can all be accessed later when people are applying for jobs, colleges, scholarships and greek life. It’s best to keep negative content off of the internet for everyone’s sake.
The beauty of the internet is that people are able to have access to information at the click of a button and be able to stay updated on current events almost instantly, but using the power of free speech that your phone gives you for cruelty defeats the purpose.
All social media users should understand that their content will always be accessible, even if it’s deleted. They should understand that comments can hurt even through a screen and that it’s important to be considerate of everything you post. You can delete a comment or take down a post but someone somewhere could easily have a screenshot of it on their phone.
Although it may sound childish, some of the best advice Officer Wolf told my sixth grade class was to “always be the kind and considerate person you are in real life on social media.”
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