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Most interesting part of the article, I think: > Ronson documents the rise of cyberbrigades which unite in virtual outrage, on Twitter, Reddit, or elsewhere on

by azakai 11y ago

Most interesting part of the article, I think: > Ronson documents the rise of cyberbrigades which unite in virtual outrage, on Twitter, Reddit, or elsewhere online, to disparage someone’s words or behavior. Participants often feel that their abusive actions flow from justified outrage—but all bullies think that their behavior is justified. “We know from moral disengagement work that all bullies feel morally justified in their actions,” Swearer pointed out. [..] “They build narratives of their behaviors.” Many of the bullies Swearer has dealt with don’t seem to have realized that what they did was bullying: they demonstrate “a lack of insight and self-awareness.” Instead, they see themselves as righteous crusaders.

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
I wonder how influenced this is by a incomplete awareness of how different social media is from other contexts. If I say "David Cameron can go fuck off, cutting tax credits is a savage attack on the poor." to my friends in real life, that's relatively private. But if I tweet ".@David_Cameron [...]", it's broadcast to a much wider audience (my followers, and their followers if they retweet it, etc.), is public, and can perhaps be seen by the person in question. (Cameron's perhaps not the best example here, mind.) Social media is weird, basically. It's public, but people don't quite seem to treat it like that. Even though anyone could theoretically find it, people make tweets as if only their followers can see them. Hence perhaps-unintentional public shaming? Especially when someone's venting. (I hope this comment is at least semi-coherent. I'm not trying to justify such behaviour, FWIW.)
pixl97 11y ago
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

by azakai 11y ago

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago

I wonder how influenced this is by a incomplete awareness of how different social media is from other contexts. If I say "David Cameron can go fuck off, cutting tax credits is a savage attack on the poor." to my friends in real life, that's relatively private. But if I tweet ".@David_Cameron [...]", it's broadcast to a much wider audience (my followers, and their followers if they retweet it, etc.), is public, and can perhaps be seen by the person in question. (Cameron's perhaps not the best example here, mind.) Social media is weird, basically. It's public, but people don't quite seem to treat it like that. Even though anyone could theoretically find it, people make tweets as if only their followers can see them. Hence perhaps-unintentional public shaming? Especially when someone's venting. (I hope this comment is at least semi-coherent. I'm not trying to justify such behaviour, FWIW.)

pixl97 11y ago

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”