The internet is a place that can easily speedrun hateful comments into a cyberbullying campaign. It creates an environment without room for meaningful conversation or critical thinking. Facts become irrelevant in the face of discourse made up of conflict, insults and anger.
For example, Imane Khelif won a gold medal in women’s boxing during this year’s Olympic games despite the intense cyberbullying she was put through. She is currently filing a lawsuit against some prominent figures such as Elon Musk, Donald Trump and J.K. Rowling, who instigated the attacks.
The attacks escalated when Rowling implied that Khelif is transgender to her millions of followers. The remarks were hostile and led to further hostility from her followers. Musk tagged along and further promoted the transphobic cyberbullying.
There seems to also be an element of racism. White athletes like Caitlyn Jenner get praise for coming out as transgender. Black and brown female athletes with hormonal or even just a masculine physique get bashed or accused of being men, transgender or on steroids. All it took was someone with a decent-sized following to start a bullying storm against Khelif.
“I send a message to all the people of the world to uphold the Olympic principles and the Olympic Charter, to refrain from bullying all athletes, because this has effects, massive effects,” Khelif said during an interview on SNTV. “It can destroy people. It can kill people’s thoughts, spirit and mind. It can divide people. And because of that, I ask them to refrain from bullying.”
Rowling, Musk and Trump used their influence to cause significant harm to an athlete without taking the responsibility to fact-check. The internet spreads rumors in a way that inhibits critical thinking while promoting bandwagoning.
Cyberbullying goes beyond just celebrities and is a growing concern for teens. According to the WHO, 1 in 6 adolescents have experienced cyberbullying. In a time where we should be teaching kids about internet safety and protecting them from cyberbullying, we are subjecting them to also seeing cyberbullying online between adults.
One answer is in the way the internet has created personalized echo chambers for its users. When something pushes back against people’s narrow views, we see discourse pop up.
The limited scope of understanding that the internet encourages allows people to take sides. Often, each side cannot look past their ego, which means arguments are simple, without nuance. The aim is to stay divided instead of developing strong morals and media literacy, things that would bring us together.
How do we get back to a baseline of mutual respect?
Students should make an effort to engage with literature, art and problem- solving. Reading and pursuing education are ways to create distance from the echo-chambers the internet traps us in.
Taking a critical thinking classes gives students the ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information. A speech class can also teach students to how to organize their arguments clearly, back up their arguments with credible evidence and cater to the needs of their audience.
TCC offers an Information Literacy Certificate Workshop through Canvas. The workshop teaches students how to research information and find credible sources. It is a resource that teaches students how to avoid misinformation online and think for themselves.
Moral clarity has been decreasing as online usage continues to ramp up. The incentive to push out hateful rhetoric is becoming immense. Moving forward there needs to be an emphasis on engaging critically with media and texts as well as practicing empathy.
