The Internet has helped a new kind of global public sphere to manifest in the ever-changing digital age. The Internet is a powerful tool, as it combines user participation with its unmatched networking capabilities However, online participatory culture can also have detrimental effects on individuals and social groups.
It is not an uncommon to hear of individuals being targeted and discriminated against in the online community due to their gender, sexual-orientation, race and of course, appearance. These practices are most common on online social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Given that the very backbone of social networking involves sharing personal information, voicing our free speech and personal opinion, it is no wonder that cyber-bulling has become a common practice in the cyber realm; given that there are no visible or immediate consequences for the keyboard warriors living amongst us.
The Internet is a place for collective intelligence to blossom and grow, however Youtube videos such as the ‘Search Racist. Jews.’ was created to elucidate the sheer crudeness of ideas that can be formed through this collaborative effort that we have all come to love and cherish.
Anonymity is a major factor in the amount of misogyny that women experience online. Dreher (2012) shed light on a campaign named #mencallmethings aimed at highlighting the number of people on twitter posting abusive misogynous emails and posts sent to female bloggers online.
While the dark side of online participatory culture may harbour many negatives, campaigns such as #mencallmethings are taking steps in the right direction by raising awareness of the issue in the fight against identity-based discrimination online. However, I firmly believe that for as long as anonymity exists on the Internet, online discrimination will always remain a problem due to the participatory nature of the beast.
References:
Dreher, T 2012, ‘#mencallmethings: Identity and Difference Online’, lecture, BCM112, Convergent Media Practices, University of Wollongong, delivered 07 May.
StopRacismUCT 2010, Search Racist. Jews., accessed 08/05/2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBjQX3sfSRo
Edited 11/05/2012
The Internet, An Abyss 