Humorous or Hurtful?

In recent years, there have been many new inventions and innovations, both negative and positive. One of the major things that have quickly taken over the world is social media. Before, it was very difficult for people on other sides of the world to communicate to each other. Today, with the use of the different social networks, it is easier than ever and even possible for people to make friends or relationships from the Internet. However, it can become a problem when people become addicted, spending all day on their phones, constantly scrolling through their Twitter timelines, double tapping on Instagram pictures, and reblogging Tumblr posts. Another more important negative side to social media is cyber-bullying. It has been so common for people to anonymously send people hate, and this is especially evident on Twitter.

I believe that people bully on Twitter, or any other form of social media for that matter, because they are behind a screen doing it out of their own enjoyment, not knowing that they would hurt someone's feelings. Many people actually, after one of their "Mean Tweets" are featured on the Jimmy Kimmel Show, receive a lot of hate themselves. When asked why they tweeted something so mean, they respond saying that they did so for comedy, and they did not seriously mean it or they didn't want to offend anyone. Some people even say that they didn't expect anyone to see that tweet, especially the person the tweet is directed towards.

Cyber-bullying is a problem that only continues, and could even get worse as time goes on. There are options to report or block users on Twitter, but this doesn’t make a difference. Even if there were laws, there will always be people trying to find new ways to hurt others online. All we can do is to ignore whatever hurtful things we receive, but also always remember not to continue the cycle.

-Stephanie