Last Tuesday there was an article in USA TODAY concerning the implications of social Media being thrust upon us and how the results can be both very positive and very negative. A portion of the story was dedicated to Tyler Clementi. Clementi commited suicide after an intimate encounter between he and another man was recorded by his Rutgers oommate and broadcast online against his will. The roomate then used Twitter to announce that he intended to do so again. While social media can do so much good to connect people it is a shame that there are those who will use it to so maliciously attack others. Social media is so deeply ingrained in this tragic event that Clementi's final act was a Facebook post declaring that he was about to jump in the George Washington Bridge sent from his cell phone. This really punctuates our recent class discussion about choosing VERY carefully what you choose to share online. Maybe Tyler's roomate did not intend for Tyler to kill himself but he obviously did mean to do harm by posting it online and he had to consider this as one of the possible outcomes of his actions. I scrutinize very carefully what I publish online becouse I recently found myself tagged in photos with people whom I no longer associate with and I had to remove the tags. It is often not only ourselves we can hurt but others as well, even with the best of intentions.
I beleve that Invasion of Privacy charges have been filed against the roomate Dharun Ravi carrying a maximum of 5 years. Bias charges are also pending
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20101011/OPINION01/101011003/DeWayne-Wickham-Social-media-thrusting-us-into-global-town-square
http://www.facebook.com/pages/In-Honor-of-Tyler-Clementi/153517964681258
I heard about this story but didn't actually know the details, or that social media played such a huge role. I've seen numerous articles over the years talking about the negative effects of social media-online bullying, people being exploited in Facebook photo albums, etc. This definitely takes it to a whole other level though and hopefully Tyler's story will teach people to really think twice about what they post online.
ReplyDeleteWow, I never heard of this yet but I can understand how social media can be a great advantage but also a harm to people. I mean, when facebook just started up teens had no idea that if something inappropriate is posted it stays with them even if they think they delete it off the internet. Hopefully because this is more aware, that teens and for that matter anyone will be better about what is posted and what they post.
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