Social media
has slowly taken over our lives. It is hard to imagine what the world would be
like if internet just suddenly disappeared. Besides serving as a collection of
all imaginable and unimaginable information, social media is a platform where
people can communicate with each other. We all have thoughts and opinions, and
websites such as Facebook and Twitter allow us to freely share them, as well as
discuss our disagreements. However Nick Bilton, the author of the article “Don’t
Fight Flames with Flames”, believes that arguing online is a waste of time –
besides often ending in anything but consensus, arguing on social media can
lead to an entire digital mob that will “circle” around its target and throw bitter
and vulgar insults its way. Personally, I agree with Bilton's statement. I find social media to be extremely toxic, and many of its users, who think that there could be no punishment for their words, utilize their freedom of speech in the most degrading and insulting ways. I believe that the main cause of such actions is not cruelty, but rather a blurry line that separates an insult from an ordinary negative comment. What can offend one person, might go unnoticed by another, and unless you know an individual personally, you would not know what topics could trigger them. If each one of us attempts to, before engaging in an online conversation,learn a little more about one another - browsing one's profile can do the deal - the dialogue could be more productive since we know what line not to cross.
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