Week10, Digital Citizenship and Conflict: Social Media Governance.
Social media is now something that can be said to have great power in a social life, whether it starts from things related to positive or negative things. We can access all the latest information and news easily and for free, but of course there are dangers that threaten this. Starting from the propaganda that is spread, things about power, control or giving a big influence on society and this can cause chaos such as spreading hoaxes, harassment, cases of racism, discrimination or triggering war conflicts.
Online Harassment has become one of the serious cases lately, according to (Haslop, O'Rourke & Southern 2021, p. 1420) Within the context of this study, we adjust the definition of online harassment: 'Online harassment is defined as threats or other unpleasant undesired actions directed directly at individuals through new technology channels (e.g., Internet, text messaging) or put online for others to see that are likely to cause them damage, intentionally or inadvertently' (our italicisation). One of the most common cases is the sexual harassment that occurs on social media. Many people cannot express themselves freely because of the harassment that occurs and this happens a lot to women. Any kind of online communication that is motivated by animosity or prejudice towards any person or group because of their real or perceived gender, sexuality, race, religion, and/or handicap, including advocating violence against them, is considered a form of online hate crime according to (Haslop, O'Rourke & Southern 2021, p. 1420).
Harassment cases can start from sexual comments when a woman uploads a photo of herself wearing minimal clothing and even using closed clothes, harassment still occurs. Intimate relationship violence (47.1%), stalking (27.9%), and rape (37.4%) are all frequent forms of victimisation for women between the ages of 18 and 24 according to (Lindsay, Booth, Messing & Thaller 2016, p. 3177). Meanwhile, according to other data, females reported experiencing harassment more frequently than males, with 34% reporting being harassed at least once by someone they knew, 17% by someone they did not know, 21% by a significant other, and 31% after they had asked the person to stop according to (Lindsay, Booth, Messing & Thaller 2016, p. 3182). Of course, the existence of this case has traumatised many people and this problem must be addressed immediately by placing restrictions and penalties on the perpetrators of online harassment. In the current population numbers, it cannot be denied that the more time spent on social media, the more negative effects and negative energy you will experience. But with the general population's increasing tendency to focus on social issues, there are now several strategies for suppressing online victim abuse.
Reference :
Haslop, C, O’Rourke, F & Southern, R 2021, "NoSnowflakes: The toleration of harassment and an emergent gender-related digital divide, in a UK student online culture", Convergence (London, England), vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 1418–1438.
Lindsay, M, Booth, JM, Messing, JT & Thaller, J 2016, "Experiences of Online Harassment Among Emerging Adults: Emotional Reactions and the Mediating Role of Fear", Journal of interpersonal violence, vol. 31, no. 19, pp. 3174–3195.












