Let’s begin with a question to you as a reader? And let’s be honest here: How often do you interact in social media and with whom? During the time you are on facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Mastodon, etc., how often do you post something and what do you normally post? Does it have to do with politics, your opinion on certain current events, an important event in your life, maybe something to do with your hobbies? And out of the posts, what is the ratio between a positive reaction versus a negative reaction you receive from your followers- the people who joined your network or follow you?
More likely than not, we have received a good share of negativity for every post we have on social media. And sometimes they can impact on your real life outside the web. It can affect your job, your relationship, family and friendship. In the worst case, if it has to do with hate comments, it can cause enough distress where you can lose it completely. As my math teacher in sixth grade once told me: “Your comments can sometimes cause you more trouble than it’s worth.”
A pair of recent studies came out which proves this theory. In both the United States as well as in Germany, one in two people have received hate mail for every comment that is posted. Of which, much of the hate comments have to do with the current events, political and/or personal opinions, sexual preferences, and lastly one’s lifestyles. The people hardest hit have been those in the LBQT+ community, as well as those in the minorities (Hispanics and Blacks) and those who support the Green party (which has become the trend here in Germany). The negative commentaries to every post have become unbearable that much of the population, have either scaled back on social media activities or have left the online scene altogether to try something different.
Nevertheless, silencing people with different opinions have become a problem and a potential threat to the fabric of democracy, especially with all the misinformation coming from Russia. Sometimes one has to be silent, but in some cases, silence isn’t gold and your say is worth diamonds.
How much have you been affected by the negative publicity in social media and what can we do to stop this? For a project, we’re doing a questionnaire about this problem in social media. Unlike the previous ones which are shortlived to only one month and on themes that come and go, this one will last three months with the results coming in June. The reason is that we have double the number of questions and they require some critical and objective thinking. Opinions and suggestions can also be mentioned in the comment section at the end of the article.
Please keep in mind that hate mail/commentary refers to everything that degrades the person and his/her personality and it includes making threats and blackmail. It also includes personal indentity theft which is used illegally for one’s own purposes. What’s marked as a * denotes multiple answers are possible.
Without further ado, have a look at them. And please spread the word to others so that they can participate. Your opinion matters. Good luck and thank you for participating. 🙂
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Questionnaire:
For what purpose do you use social media? *
https://strawpoll.com/XmZRxp8lWnd
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How have you changed your activity in social media in the past decade?
https://strawpoll.com/eNg69xdJAnA
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How often have you been subjected to harassment and/or hate mail in social media?
https://strawpoll.com/poy9WrJa2gJ
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How effective have the laws been in your country that protect people from harassment and hate mail in social media?
https://strawpoll.com/wAg3Av1d2y8
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Which actors bear the responsibility for regulating behavior of people in social media?*
https://strawpoll.com/1MnwOK7e5n7
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How should hate commentary and hate posts in social media be treated by law?
https://strawpoll.com/e6Z28NxJ8nN
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THE FLENSBURG FILES 
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