Nowadays, social media is both a dream and a nightmare for all of us. From learning something to teaching something, from loving something to hating something; it changes purpose whether we want it or not. 10 years ago, it was luxury, not everyone had in their phones or computers.
At the beginning of the internet, it was amazing. Applications that helped you to communicate with each other even you are miles away, or became a platform where you could share your ideas and/or problems. When you needed sources to support your argument, it was one click away. But what happened?
We are selfish creatures; we kill animals so their fur can look nice in the dining room, or invade nature to provide living places. We are also not selfish to nature; we are selfish to each other. We rarely share, we only care what is ours. Therefore, it was inevitable for internet to turn into a nightmare.
When people did not have to share their names, critical information; they were free more than ever. They could compliment you, insult you or even threaten you. Moreover, when you ban them, they could still create another account and continue harming you. There were some updates: you can use one mail address for one account, it did not change people but changed the number of bullies.
However, it was not enough. Therefore, countries had some legislations: For example, you cannot insult someone easily. Law enforcement have the permission to arrest you or fine you. Internet world started to turn into real world. Additionally, people became aware of social media bullies. Those who were bullied used social media to raise awareness and make the internet a better place.
Then, how come there are still people that can harm you via social media? Making the internet a better place is easier said than done. Even though there were people everywhere to make a change, their protest wasn’t enough. Because it was usually up to government and the government had urgent concerns, so needed changes could not have done at the right time.
Some people think these legislations, protests, campaigns are enough. They also thought, staying anonymous was everybody’s right. They were right until everything got out of hand. Suicides started, especially teenage suicides. It was existing already but the numbers over the years went crazy. No one could stop it healthily; the problem still exists.
To sum up, internet was miracle for everyone at first, then turned into a nightmare. However, we cannot get rid of it because it is also the solution of the issues it created. There were legislations but was not enough, still not enough. Therefore, to prevent bullying, there should be rules for everyone to obey, whether they are anonymous or not. In addition, there should be experts behind to monitor everything that is texted as a comment.