Has Online Shaming Become Out Of Control?

Online shaming is often described as a form of cyberbullying and has become more abundant than ever, in the past couple of years. As a society that relies so much on the internet, seeing online shaming has become a norm. There are many different ways that one can be shamed online. Common examples include shaming an individual for what they look like, who they love, what their gender identifies as, what their ethnicity is, and what their political views are. While in some cases online shaming can be okay, much of it is simply full of rude, and unnecessary remarks and opinions that would be better left unsaid. Because there is such a huge amount of these unnecessary cases of online shaming, it is most certainly justifiable to say that it is becoming out of control.

Online shaming is becoming out of control because it has been causing people to feel more self conscious and insecure about the way their body looks. Why is it that no one should have to feel insecure about the way their body looks, yet virtually everyone does? Well, one thing is clear, and that is that a huge portion of the problem is due to online shaming. On Deadline.com, Bill Maher claims that overeating is equivalent to racism and littering. He says that fat shaming should not end, and should instead make a comeback. He is wrong. Overeating is not equivalent to littering and racism. It is fat shaming that is. Fat shaming can cause someone to develop an eating disorder! Fat shaming can result in death! Overeating may cause obesity and other problems that too, result in death, however not as quickly. And this is not to say that overeating is not an eating disorder, however eating disorders should not be shamed and instead understood. When one is considerate about what one is going through, it can actually help that person deal with it better. Because the truth is, the person that is doing the fat shaming has no clue what the other person is going through. Their parents could’ve just gotten a divorce. Their loved one may have just died. They may be going through horrible depression. They may already be bullied at school. And when one just adds on to those pre-existing problems, this can cause the victim to just completely withdraw and possibly commit suicide. And being part of the cause of a person’s death can and will be charged as a crime, understandably. And when a person dies and a person is put in jail all because of a stupid, unnecessary remark, that is the definition of out of control.

Like Girl Scouts.org says, “Whether you call it fat shaming or body shaming, one thing is clear: nobody should feel shame over their weight, clothing size, or body shape.” no one should feel this way, and making one feel this way is a crime at its best. So when someone posts obnoxious things about the way a person’s body looks, then it is okay to shame them, as this is more of a correction of their hideous crime than a form of bullying.

Online shaming is becoming out of control because it is causing LGBTQ people to feel like outsiders, and unwelcome to the general public. Some online shamers have linked being gay, to being HIV positive. While this is true for some people, it is MOST CERTAINLY not for all. And joking about these sensitive issues is not any more okay either. Pride.com says, “Attributing a person’s sudden weight loss to HIV as a joke or out of skepticism is not okay.” and they are entirely right. But not everyone thinks this through before posting those nasty comments and this is one sign that a commenter is out of control. Not being able to hold your tongue is a horrible condition to have, for one little comment like that can ruin the receiver’s entire day or even life in just one second.

LGBTQ identifying people should be treated as equals to straight people, and should not be shamed for their identity in any way. Being trans or gay is not a decision, it is an instinct, and there is nothing wrong with it. As for the people who think there is and post disgusting things explaining their wrong ideas, online shaming them can be seen as a correction, and is not a form of bullying when done correctly.

Another supporting reason justifying the idea that online shaming is out of control is because it is making women feel less than their worth, and ashamed of the gender they are. Women have been unable to wear what they want in the past, and this horrible cycle sadly still goes on in many countries. However, in the US women and girls are able to wear whatever they want, yes? Well...not exactly. The thing is, when a female posts a picture to her social media account wearing an outfit that shows her tummy, too much cleavage, or too much skin in general, she risks the horrible chance of being called a slut,a hoe, or any other demeaning term directed at a female. Like Jon Ronsen explained on TED, women are often spoken to differently than men, and when this is shown online, it is in it’s most noticeable, disturbing form. "When a man gets shamed, it's going to be: 'I'm going to get you fired.' When a woman gets shamed, it's: 'I'm going to get you fired, and raped, and we'll cut out your uterus,'" Ronsen said.

Misogynistic people still exist, and we can see that on many different social media platforms nowadays. And shaming a misogynistic person for their actions when done correctly is another okay form of online shaming. This will hopefully correct them and teach them that what they are saying is not okay and to think about that next time before they post such an appalling post again.

Online shaming is becoming out of control, as it is causing people to feel discriminated against because of the color of their skin, or their ethnicity as a whole. Choosing to call someone less intelligent because of the color of their skin is not and should never be thought of as okay. Racism can happen in many different ways. It can be in person, behind someone’s back, in someone’s head, or online. And it can happen in many different places as well, not just in the racism capital of the world (the US). One in-person example of demeaning a person’s intelligence because of the color of their skin took place in a DoDEA school in Germany, where Judy Rae Merhar, a former long-term substitute at Hainerberg Elementary School in Wiesbaden reportedly told a black boy he looked like “an ape without a brain in his body.” But online shaming can be just as bad. Lately there has been a lot of online shaming relating to racism. On wuft.org news they talk about several different racist online shaming occurrences that have taken place in different US schools. They include Louisiana State University which said in a post on Twitter on June 16th, 2020 that a white student attending their school had recently appeared in a brief video online saying, “I hate n—–” He/she would not be attending their school. The next occurrence spoken about took place on June 13th in the City Of Gainesville. They rescinded an employment offer to a University of Florida former student government official who wrote racist comments in private messages in 2015 when he was in high school. Then it speaks about how Marquette denied the athletic scholarship of an incoming freshman over a Snapchat post that compared George Floyd’s death with Colin Kaepernick’s NFL protest. The final occurrence it speaks about takes place in a private women’s college in Georgia, Wesleyan College. They expelled a student earlier this month over offensive, racist social media posts. Because of all of these incidences, online shaming is displayed to be becoming out of control.

Correcting and confronting a racist post by using online shaming is however an okay form of online shaming to use, if used correctly.

Online shaming is becoming out of control because it is diminishing people’s sense of pride in their political values and roles. On February 20th, 2020, a Tweet by Jenifer Rubin claimed that “Mean and angry Warren is not a good look”, online shaming poor Elizabeth Warren who was simply trying to share her political views. On March 6th, 2020 Donald Trump claimed that “people don’t like Elizabeth Warren because she’s mean.” which is also online shaming as the video was posted on the internet. Online shaming politicians, especially when it is done by another politician can hurt the victim but can also be a sure-fire way to hurt your own reputation.

Being a good politician does not mean being nice and happy all of the time. It means caring for the American people, which she does. And while some people see that, many just believe Elizabeth Warren who is not fit for president either because she is a woman, or because she is a Democrat. However, either way, online shaming her for her values with such opinionated and fact-lacking reasons to do so is not okay.

Online shaming the people who online shame others in some instances such as Elizabeth Warren’s case can be okay though. However shaming one for how they look or talk for instance, is never okay. Shaming someone for their actions, when necessary, is the only way that this can be okay.

Thus, the practice of online shaming can be good and bad. When used correctly it can help educate people on the right ideals. When used incorrectly it can damage a person’s self esteem, ruin their reputation, and possibly convince them to use self harm against themselves. What one posts online is irreversible, and can be very painful to the person on the receiving end. What people need to know is how to control themselves and how they post so that it doesn’t get to that point. In the future to solve this problem I would suggest that teachers and parents teach children at a young age how to safely post comments online, so that in the future they do not end up making a huge mistake that they’ll regret for the rest of their lives. Therefore, online shaming is out of control at the time-being, but can still be fixed if people are more educated on the idea.