Racism on social media

Darius Swearegene Blog Post 4

 Lora Strey

Comp 101-12

“Some Thoughts On Mercy” Is a story about life as a minority and how racism still exist in today’s world. The story also shows that people can judge things without understanding situations. While I was reading this story I found multiple parts that I could relate to. I've been stopped randomly by officers of the law and have been asked to step out of the vehicle to be searched and randomly frisked. Racism isn't a thing of the past in still evident till this very day. Social media can be the perfect place for racism to rear its ugly head.

One question that I thought of while reading the article was “Does social media impact our thoughts on other races?” well the answer is yes. Social media is a place where opinions can be shared freely and some may be anonymous while others are public. This means that people are able to freely express themselves in a positive or negative manner. Many see this as an opportunity to spread hate.

Social sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or Yik Yak certainly impact the way think of other races. If we see our peers spreading hate speech others will be susceptible to the same things. Twitter allows those to spread opinions without filters. Twitter is arguable one of the most racist social media platforms. While Yik Yak is an anonymous app that lets people say as they please it also generates hate. Not only does Yik Yak in other areas have racist post but our very own school has had its fair share of racist post

Finally, we see that social media can’t impact the way you think of other races. Social media is a big place for hate toward other races. The slur Paki is used 1,170 times on a daily basis and coon is used 320 times a day. These statistics show that race is still an eminent issue and shows that social media can be a nice outlet to those who want to generate hateful speech. There is currently a PhD student from the University of Alberta looking into censoring racist tweets.

In conclusion social media can be a great outlet for those who want to spread hateful messages. It can be seen as free speech but when is that line crossed?. Even though I believe racism isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I believe social media racism can be minimized by getting filters on commonly used racial slurs.

Work Cited

Nathan Fung, The Gateway, PhD student looks to fight racism in social media October 08, 2014

Jamie Bartlett, Jeremny Reffin, Noelle Rumball, Sarah Williamson Anti social media - Racism on Twitter Date Accessed: October 08, 2014

•  The Huffington Post #Racism in 140 Characters TheHuffingtonPost.com March 10, 2014
• Date Accessed: October 09, 2014 Author: Nitya Rajan

                        

Sexual Harassment on Social Media

Ryan Sjoberg Blog Post 3

Lora Strey

Composition 101-12

            “Next Time Someone Says Women Aren’t Victims Of Harassment, Show Them This.” Is a comic story about girls being harassed sexually or verbally by men.  In this comic story, women are pictured being verbally attacked by animal-like men that treat women like objects.  While reading this comic, it is easy to relate it to real life because it is realistic to actual events that take place at parties, gatherings, or even just an everyday passing on the street.  I am going to relate the sexual harassment described in this article to the sexual harassment that happens on social media. 

            The first question one may ask is “Is sexual harassment even evident on social networks?”  Many don’t realize it, but the answer is yes.  In fact, if you are fresh out of a serious relationship, you are at the highest risk of being harassed.  Social media allows people to keep up on what anybody is doing for 24 hours a day if we would really want to.  This can lead to an obsession with a person leading to jealousy, stalking, and if serious enough, sexual harassment.  Social media isn’t just a hangout to have fun and mingle with your friends; kids need to be careful who they associate themselves with on the Internet and not get caught up with bullying/harassing people.

            There are multiple forms of sexual harassment that take place on social media.  According to a University of North Carolina website, the majority of sexual harassment that takes place on the Internet is verbal or graphic harassment.  Verbal harassment refers to sexual messages or sexting a victim that is initiated by the harasser and not consented by the victim.  This could be sending disturbing texts or maybe even rape threats.  Graphic harassment refers to sending erotic pictures of oneself to a victim without their consent.  Sexual harassment doesn’t always come with actions; it could come in pictures or words and we may not even realize its sexual harassment.

            Finally, as we have learned sexual harassment on social networks is definitely a problem, but it is even worse on Facebook.  According to a US news blog, 62% of online abuse in the US happens on Facebook.  Facebook is the most widely used social media site, so the probably of predators being on there is higher than any other site.  The website also states that being a college graduate reduces the chance of sexual harassment online.  Obviously being educated about it helps and can keep you away from predators.  The less educated have a higher chance at being harassed.  63% of non-college graduates reported getting harassed over social media.  Sexual harassment on the Internet is a scary thing and if we could get educated in this area, we could help more young women avoid these situations.

            In conclusion, social media can be a honey hole for predators.  They can stalk you when you are vulnerable, harass you in multiple ways, and that education helps you stay away from predators.  I hope the article “Next Time Someone Says Women Aren’t Victims Of Harassment, Show Them This.” Helped people relate to real life harassment situations.

Works Cited

"Internet Harassment - SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON THE INTERNET."Internet Harassment - SEXUAL HARASSMENT ON THE INTERNET. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

"Social Media: A New Channel for Sexual Harassment and Discrimination." Social Media: A New Channel for Sexual Harassment and Discrimination. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.

US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 03 Oct. 2014.