Last week, 17-year-old Kayla, a girl from my theatre community in my hometown, stood up on stage and “came out” to her high school at an all-school assembly. She did not do this just to inform the world that she was gay; in a powerful and touching speech, she cracked open the taboos and barricades surrounding the acceptance of gay teens and gay marriage. Kayla’s speech was heartfelt and brave as she spoke about a personal subject that is very controversial. Kayla’s words were not confined to the time and space of the assembly, however; a video of her speech was posted on Youtube.
I was one of the very first people to watch the video on Youtube. I immediately posted the video onto my Facebook to share it with all of my online friends. By the end of the day, thirty of my friends had reposted the video. After three days, all of our friends and many friends of friends had seen the video. After six days, almost everyone in my hometown had seen or at least heard of Kayla’s speech. It was the talk of the town. It did not stop there; after a week, the video went beyond the boundaries of people who know Kayla: the video went viral.
Before the video went viral, the comment section was full of friend and family’s support, love, and admiration. As the video began to spread, complete strangers praised her words, her bravery, and her message. The upheaval of positive support was enormous. Yesterday, however, as the video reached 16,000 views since it was posted last Monday, some anonymous person wrote a short and hateful comment violently opposing not just the girl’s argument, but also the girl and everyone who supported her. There was an instant outcry against this comment, and things immediately got messy: the comment forum exploded into a battleground against this negative comment. It was like Pandora’s box had been cracked open: everyone began hashing out their opinions against the offender in a brusque manner. A few more rude and negative comments against Kayla’s argument appeared. These negative comments sparked angry and sometimes equally hurtful responses. Even the people who were against the comment were violent in the way the dealt with and answered the original offender.
The conversations soon escalated into branched-out cyberspace fights, and soon a large majority of the conversation threads on the comment page no longer had anything to do with the actual video. Instead, every few seconds new comments would appear to bash apart a previous commentator. The majority of the people shooting angry comments back and forth did not even make an effort to censor what they were saying by trying to be polite and reasonable. Those that tried to do this initially quickly became incensed by the “ignorance” or unwillingness for the offender to see their point of view.
I was left wondering: what on Earth made it all right for people to brawl in such an undignified way on a public forum? Part of the answer, without a doubt, is the veil of anonymity cloaking a person to the point where they find themselves at liberty to say whatever they please, no matter how insensitive, hurtful or extreme. The comment section for Kayla’s video has turned into a bitter brawl as angry comments are flung back and forth between completely anonymous people. These people stopped arguing about the video and started openly insulting each other with profanities and accusations, most of which have nothing to do with any of the issues presented in Kayla's argument.
What does this say about the power of anonymity in such a public forum? It allows people to say violent things that they would never say in person. Yet from the safety of their perch behind their computer screen, a person can say anything that they please and distance themselves emotionally from the repercussions their words might cause.
As of this afternoon, the video has jumped from the 16,000 views it had yesterday to a whopping 70,000 hits. Since this morning, over 600 comments have accumulated in the comment forum. Watching a video spread so rapidly and generate such a large response is an eye-opening vision of the strange functions of this modern world of cyberspace. It leaves me with these questions: is it OK to argue in this uncivilized, potentially hurtful way on a public forum? Or has the internet reduced human disagreements into faceless cage-fighting from the safety of your home?
6 comments:
I've seen many examples of this type of behavior in online forums and such. One example I can think of is on www.fmylife.com. Every once in a while, there’s a story where somebody's parents or roommate walk in on them having sex with another person of the same gender. This also usually occurs before they've come out of the closet.
Before going on, here is a little about how FML works for those of you who’ve never visited the site. With an FML post, a reader can click the "I agree, your life sucks" option or the "You totally deserved it" option to vote on the person's post. One can also comment on these posts in a thread.
With these FML posts relating to homosexual relationships, the comment thread is usually loaded with responses ranging from "Good for you!" to "You totally deserved it for being...(I'll go no further.)". This same comment thread medium becomes a battleground, like the case with the aforementioned YouTube video. People seem to have no hold on their tongue while they remain anonymous online. So many hateful and brutal things are said that are never a part of civilized talk.
The internet is quite a conundrum. It is sad that people use their computer screens as a front for online bullying, but think of all the people this video wouldn't have reached if it hadn't been posted on the internet. I think that people just don't associate themselves with their image on the internet. Perhaps if the connection is created, people would start thinking before they type.
It is very interesting how online profiles seems to dehumanize people enough to warrant these ruthless attacks. The fact that both sides escalate so quickly really speaks to how the anonymity and public nature of the Internet magnifies all opinions and statements. It seems like you almost need to use harsher language in order to he heard online. There is a disconnect between the intimacy you have toward the words you say and the ones you read. It is truly sad that this speech is receiving so much negativity, but as Ashley pointed out, her goal of commanding attention and sharing her voice was reached. Sadly she also reached some unsavory individuals as well.
It is amazing to see what sides of people come out when their identity is hidden by a computer monitor. People lose all filters and say things they would never speak aloud if they know that there is no one to hold them accountable for what they say. Online forums can be a great way for people to connect and meet new people, but I think that this story proves that moderators are sometimes a necessary way to keep people civil online. People need to think twice about the consequences of their words and remember that people read what they write. This also leads me to believe that cyber bullying is a largely unrecognized evil of virtual communities. Cyber bullying can lead to significant emotional trauma, depression, and even suicide. In situations such as this one, victims may find it hard to accept themselves, and other readers may become afraid to come out for fear of people’s reactions.
Already, the video has over 200k hits! Wow, she's a fantastic speaker... I have a friend who just came out as a trans-girl on Facebook and she has had nothing but public positive support and reassurance. It is sad that there are people responding negatively to Kayla's video and bashing her and one another. I still feel, though, that the fact that this was posted represents a huge net benefit. The top two "thumbs up'd" comments on the video are very positive, and this represents for me its overall impact. The dichotomy of the anonymous, cowardly digital comments on a very self-accountable, brave, real life speech is interesting. Perhaps she will reach some teens through the internet who were only willing to be themselves when protected by the anonymity and inspire them to be vocal about it.
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