This week for my website, I’m editing some old posts and adding images where I feel works with the content. I like the appearance and user experience and don’t feel I need to change that parts of my website. I like what I have so far but I will continue to look for what I can improve.
Reading: The Psychology of Online Comments & Ted Talk: When Online Shaming Goes Too Far
Both the reading and video discuss an important topic when individuals become a public figure, on purpose or by accident and how they’ll be treated. Being in the eyes of public will always have both positive and negative sides.
Konnikova discusses how being anonymous in the comments can encourage participation. And I believe that’s true, I don’t like speaking up but when I know that it’ll be anonymous it makes me more expressive of what I to share. Not that I have anything bad to say but by being anonymous it makes me feel like my identity is safe if what I said somehow affected another person. And I don’t like drama, and things can be interpreted different like the woman from the ted talk. That whole situation just went out of hand. The negative side of anonymity is that people can share rude comments. Comments are bound to happen but without anonymity, people feel free to say whatever they are thinking. We all have the ability to judge others but some people feel the need to point those out to other normal non perfect human beings. I know I’m not perfect and sometimes I do judge people online but it’s never something I feel the need to say because it’s hurtful and I don’t know the person well.
In the ted talk, this was different and this woman didn’t mean to become trending in a horrible way and it went out of hand. I can understand why people were mad because with no context, the twitter post can be interpreted differently. I understand she was trying to be funny but I feel it’s important to be a little cautious because her twitter posts were questionable. It must’ve been hard for her, she shouldn’t have been treated that way because it was also the lack of context. What didn’t make it better was she had her whole name there for everyone to find out who she is. I don’t condone what she said but to lose your job and feel like the whole world hates you can do a lot to someones mental health.
References
Konnikova, M. (2013, October 23). The psychology of online comments. The New Yorker. Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments
Ronson, J. (n.d.). When online shaming goes too far. TED Talk. Retrieved April 10, 2023, from https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_ronson_when_online_shaming_goes_too_far?language=en
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