#and probably the time I've gone the most viral I'll ever go on the internet 😂

[awwyeah107]

Happy 1 year anniversary to the most popular post I have ever made! XD XD

I made this because today has been a whirlwind of fandom news for me (except for the still needing to watch the last 2 episodes of the most recent Loki season...I simply was reminded of that, lol) and this meme was the perfect way to express the overwhelm XD

[reviewsbyracine]

I READ A BOOK: “So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed” by Jon Ronson

The Internet can be a cruel place. Look up any comments section on YouTube or Reddit and you'll find arguments, insults, and even threats. A lot of this has to do with the anonymity of the Internet: if the person you are insulting doesn't know who you are, then there is no fear of being caught or reprimanded. It also just as easy to see the person the internet is shaming as not real, because there is no emotional attachment involved and therefore not guilt when shaming gets out of control. Think about all of the people the Internet has latched onto with its hatred, demanding they be fired from their job for an inappropriate tweet. What was the follow-up? Jon Ronson's nonfiction book So You've Been Publicly Shamed takes a look into this very modern and terrifying phenomenon.

So You've Been Publicly Shamed follows a few notable examples, although Ronson could have easily found enough examples to double the length of his book. The most infamous example featured in the book has to be Justine Sacco, who, before leaving for a flight to South Africa, tweeted, "Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding - I'm white!" By the time her 11-hour flight was over, her tweet had gone viral and she had lost her job. While the Internet worked together like a mob to punish this woman they had never and probably would never meet, Ronson clearly shows that the fallout from a public shaming like Sacco's is much more destructive and devastating than people realize. Other shamed individuals featured in Ronson's book found themselves going about their daily lives one minute, and then with just a status update or uploaded photo, their lives are changed forever.

One point that Ronson makes in So You've Been Publicly Shamed is that people tend to conflate feeling offended with feeling emotionally affected. Someone's racist or sexist tweet might offend you, but unless it is a direct attack, it is typically not going to significantly ruin your day. There is something about the Internet that causes people to be offended more easily, but that feeling of offense typically doesn't last very long. Is anyone still offended about those Dr. Seuss books being discontinued a few months ago? However, enough people reach out to that same person's workplace to demand their firing, or enough people spam the person with threats and violent words, and that can really change a person into a shell of their former self. Justine Sacco had family members distance themselves from her and she suffered from depression and PTSD. Other people featured in Ronson's book experienced similar changes, which made them afraid to post anything online ever again.

Reading So You've Been Publicly Shamed coincided with a personal realization that I've become too reliant on social media to soothe my boredom. Oftentimes, without even thinking about it, I'll scroll through Reddit or Facebook without actually absorbing any of the information I'm viewing, so I've purposely put my social media apps in another folder to hopefully prevent myself from habitually seeking them out. So You've Been Publicly Shamed really puts into perspective how toxic the Internet can be. It's not always this way. The Internet can bring people together, but it can also bring people together in a collective effort to bring someone else down. With the rise of cancel culture and with online shaming being more harmful than ever before, So You've Been Publicly Shamed almost makes you want to avoid the Internet forever.