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The Impact of Technology on Our Social Lives

There is no doubt that technology has largely impacted our lives, the use of social media

through various devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, has enabled better social

connectivity across the world. Technology has not only reduced geographical distances between

people, but it has also allowed more flexibility and faster connectivity through various platforms.

However, how has the use of technology affected our interpersonal relationships? What are the

negative effects of technology on our social lives? To answer this, I will analyze the impact of

the use of technology on our social lives based on the synthesis of “Taking Trolls to Court” by

Margaret Talbot and “What Happened When I Confronted My Cruelest Troll” by Lindy West.

Technology enables better communication all over the world, people can connect to the

whole world via social media sites such as YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. These sites have

become part of our daily lives that a majority of people cannot cope without them. Although

these sites have had a positive impact on our lives and businesses, some users utilize these sites

for wrong purposes. Incidences of cyberbullying have become widespread in the past few years.

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that occurs over social media platforms and text messages.

Personal information or views shared by an individual on social media is accessible by

acquaintances as well as strangers. According to West, incidences of cyberbullying and

harassment have become "normal, common part of my life", with strangers sending a barrage of
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insults and threats to her. This bullying is at times accompanied by threats and harassment tactics

such as “doxing” where bullies share personal information to the public (West 2015).

Also, Trolling is another form of cyberbullying intended to anger, frustrate and silence

an individual, often using anonymous social media accounts. West describes trolling as a

silencing tactic used to start quarrels or upsetting the target, with thousands of users involved, the

target is often outnumbered. Furthermore, she highlights that the most affected groups are

persons with intersecting identities such as women of color, Trans-women, and fat women (West

2015). Besides, reporting such incidences to social media companies, is a tedious and labor-

intensive process.

Research by Pew Research Center shows that over 50 percent of Americans have

experienced some form of bullying online. People utilize social media as the main channel of

communication with friends and partners, this level of connectivity may, at times result in

harmful and nonconsensual exchanges. Over 50 percent of users send and receive explicit

content through their social media platforms. However, some of these exchanged media may end

up in the public domain, tarnishing the reputation of an individual.

According to The Communications Decency Act, it’s illegal to share or publicize explicit

media of an individual without their consent. Talbot writes about a lawyer who finds justice for

victims of “Revenge Porn” and other online assaults. Morcos shares explicit images of his

girlfriend Norma after a break-up, which ends up on the internet hence tarnishing her reputation

(Talbot 2019). This is considered an invasion of privacy under a statue of "nonconsensual-porn

laws".

Interactions via social media platforms have become a central part of our lives, people

can acquire information, share ideas and get exposed to various opportunities available. Besides,
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social media network has created employment opportunities and an avenue for people to

showcase talents. West is a writer who champions the rights of women through social media. She

describes herself as a writer, a woman, and a feminist. She considers her views uncomfortable,

which addresses some fundamental societal issues such as rape and misogyny.

Talbot explains that misogyny has become notoriously intransigent, Trolls have driven

female writers out of the online community due to threats from anonymous people. In Cintron’s

book, “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace”, it highlight the effect of cyberbullying on women and

minority groups, bullying reduce their career opportunities, and it damages their ability to

expresses themselves and also affects their personal safety (Talbot 2019). Cintron advocates for

the criminalization of online threats and harassment, revenge porn, which will facilitate and

enable victims to get legal justice.

Social media has remained unregulated with no standardized laws and morals to follow.

Exposure to gore images, violence nudism, and explicit sexual content has become a norm in

these platforms. Also, cases of cyberbullying and trolling have increased significantly affecting

many individuals negatively. One of the most critical issues with social media usage is the

prevalence in cases of cyberbullying. According to research by Brandeis University, over 50

percent of users are bullied online, and between 10 to 20 percent are often bullied repeatedly.

This new wave of cyberbullying has increased significantly because people hide behind screens

while terrorizing victims with words and other forms of media.

One of the key issues with this form of harassment is that it's easier for the perpetrator to

continue pestering the victims. Normally, these bullies create fake or anonymous social media

account such that if one account is blocked, they create another account and continue with their

heinous acts. At the time this form of bullying may cause irrefutable damage to a person's
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reputation, family and society. In the article, a troll creates an account and ironically names it

“PawWestDonezo” correlated to her father’s name (West 2015). The account uses her dad’s old

photo to mock and abuse her.

Pictures or messages sent via social media are easily distributed within a short time to millions of

users. Hence, once a bully sends any form of media, it reaches a multitude of people in a short

time. In the case of Morcos and Norma, He uploads explicit photos of Norma to the internet,

soliciting people to contact her for sexual pleasures (Talbot 2019). The images are swiftly shared

online, and Norma has to write several notices to different websites for the picture to be taken

down for over four months. This is an example of sexual bullying. Sexual bullying involves

intimidating or embarrassing a person using sexual images, language or comments. Bullies may

use the social media platform to forward explicit messages and pictures, to write sexual

comments or sharing explicit videos. Similarly, West explains how she constantly receives

sexually related abuses from strangers. Such replies include that “She won’t ever have to worry

about rape.” “No one would want to rape that fat, disgusting mess” (West 2015).

Any form of vice negatively impacts on the society, and the lives of people it is aimed at.

Cyberbullying has greatly affected many individuals in the country and worldwide. As a means

to cope with the negativity, victims of cyberbullying cope differently from bullying, West in her

article decides to face the bully, she writes an article titled " Don't Ignore the Trolls, Feed them

until they explode" addressing the status of women facing harassment and bullying cases

online(West 2015). Likewise, Talbot writes about Norma who decides to initiate a criminal case

against her boyfriend according to the statue law on nonconsensual pornography. In both cases,

the victims of bullying are taking action against the perpetrators by utilizing various channels to

deal with cyberbullying. In spite of these, some victims indulge in alcohol or even drugs
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resulting from the frustration. Unfortunately, some cases have resulted in victims committing

suicides, research by Brandeis University shows that over 4,400 suicides cases annually are as a

result of cyberbullying alone in America.

Cyberbullying can be overwhelming to victims, therefore it important for every social

media user to know how to deal with such situations. According to Talbot, social media

companies such as Facebook, Reddit and Twitter have adopted policies against involuntary

pornography since 2015 (Talbot 2019). First, it is important to develop anti-bullying policies and

laws to regulate social media usage. Nonconsensual pornography is the distribution of explicit

media without the agreement of all parties involved. This law states that it is a criminal act to

knowingly disclose explicit media of an individual without their consent. Although this law does

not cover the whole spectrum of bullying incidences on social media, it has helped to deal with

some of the bullying cases. Margret in her article highlights the victory achieved by a Brooklyn

lawyer in helping a victim of “Revenge porn” (Talbot 2019)

In conclusion, advancement in technology has brought both positive and negative effects

in our society. It has facilitated faster and better communication across the globe enabling people

to share information seamlessly. Misuse of technology, especially social media has brought

negative effects to individuals and society at large. Over the past few years, the significant rise in

cyberbullying incidences has negatively affected many people. Cyberbullying involves the use of

media or messages to intimidate and harass a person. West describes that social media bullying

has become a norm in society that if you cannot cope with it you leave. Talbot highlights the

victory of a lawyer who helps a woman gain justice for a cyberbullying crime. Bullying has
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impacted victims leading to cases of depression, mental illness, and even suicides. The

government, schools and society need to develop ways to address this pandemic.
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Works Cited

Talbot, Margaret. “Taking Trolls to Court.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 9 July 2019,

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/12/05/the-attorney-fighting-revenge-porn.

West, Lindy. “What Happened When I Confronted My Cruellest Troll.” The Guardian, Guardian

News and Media, 2 Feb. 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/feb/02/what-

happened-confronted-cruellest-troll-lindy-west.