The onset of the internet has brought liberation to mankind in ways that are yet to be explored in detail. The internet is not only a repository of knowledge to those who seek wisdom but in recent times, it has also emerged as a tool for expression of democracy where you have unlimited freedom of speech. This has led to the usual bad and good side conundrum about the internet. The real question I feel is whether the internet’s good side will be stronger than the prevailing bad side in the long run.
The Internet has brought forth many social media platforms of which the more successful ones are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Quora. There are social media sites for professional activities like LinkedIn which enable recruitment at the click of a button and allow for massive professional outreach. Here, it is more of a necessity to discuss the social media platforms which are purely for networking purposes. You post and connect with friends and loved ones. But this networking has brought about a whole new level of problems, the major one being trolling. You will see that these issues of social media platforms are discussed everywhere. But if you keep on reading about these issues for a while, you will realise that although everyone feels that these problems have repercussions that affect lives in big ways, no one wants to invest in real-time solutions.
Everyone at a certain level is worried about the impact of social media. But no one is ready to invest their time seriously to stop the menace that the internet can bring at this nascent stage. The internet has become ‘popular’ in the last ten years only, so the activities done online are yet to become habits. The effects that impact society as a whole can be only be seen after two or three generations. So, I think that there is still time to bring in activities that will take the form of culture in the long term and will protect the users from harmful effects.
Trolling is one harmful side of social media which I have seen has gained prominence in the last two to three years, but it is already impacting lives to the point of killing. When one talks about trolling, we talk about it from the perspective of freedom of speech or the effects on the ‘victim’. People want it to stop because someone suffers or because too much negativity, but is defended on the rationale of ‘easy communication’.
However, nobody talks about the impact it has on the ‘troll’. Though some trolls might be psychopaths, most start trolling either for fun or as a reaction to some event. But trolling starts impacting the psyche of the trolls and, in the long run, I feel that it will bring some change to the personality of the trolls which might be hard to predict. If somebody thinks that writing on the walls of social media are mere rantings and do not impact real lives, then they are deluding themselves. When you practice something, it becomes a habit, then how will continuously writing bad things about people not become a practice in real life? Along with this, on social media, I feel that small issues are exaggerated on a daily basis. Then, won’t this exaggeration that is done daily become a habit?
Trolling as an online activity should be viewed as having an impact on daily lives. If any incident happens in someone’s real life, their social media account is opened and all kinds of commentaries are made to vent anger emanating as a result of the incident. In real life, if the internet did not exist, I feel that the person would seek guidance or solace in other things or find ways where any loved one can interfere. I am of the opinion that social media, in the name of social reform, has become a hotbed of hate. If one keeps writing about a certain group on a daily basis to the point of obsession, the ultimate result is that one’s life begins to revolve around the subject of trolling. For example, if a man has a grudge against another person, the man using social media keeps talking about that person and slowly his life revolves around the activities of that other person.
In earlier circumstances, grudges were simple grudges, but now they can result in stalking. But, the more serious problem is I strongly feel -not talking about and looking for solutions for the side effects of the internet. The government sees it as a mere problem of the virtual world which cannot be addressed in the real world. The government does see it as a habitual problem of the user of the internet. Here, I feel governance is necessary to deal with problems of the internet because the problems impact large populations and the government has all the tools of interventions such as policies.
Regarding solutions, it is not difficult to implement if one really desires and more importantly, the solutions always need not be monetary. I would like to propose solutions, which some might feel might affect freedom of expression, but there are also other avenues to ascertain freedom of expression which entails a more mature approach. Also, I would like to remind readers that the Constitution of India also provides freedom of speech with limitations only. Even though people need to have a sense of responsibility while using the internet, I feel that a legal understanding of freedom of speech is needed for every citizen of this country. So, the list of possible solutions could be:
1. Make any day of the week as the “no negative day on the internet“. This kind of activity I think will allow users to not act on only the impulse of reacting negatively to any kind of content. During any festival, I feel that it can be a policy not to post any negative comment to anyone, keeping with the spirits of the festivals.
2. The formation of some kind of internet vigilance cell might be productive as they would be able to keep tracks of the contents of the hate groups especially operating on the Internet. Till now, vigilance is done for terrorist activities, but hate groups are also impacting the minds of young generation even before they become aware of the topics at a mature level. This will not impact the right to privacy because the posts of hate groups are mostly public.
3. New kinds of internet packs could be made available for children under the age of 18. These internet packs will allow limited access to Internet sites and have restriction on contents which are of mature nature. Though child lock is available as a tool, it has failed to make an impact because at times unlocking stuff for the adult can make certain stuff available for children.
4. With time, it will become necessary to have internet outage to curtail the habit of internet dependency. The frequency of Internet outage can be decided after discussions. This step might seem far fetched to readers, but the way people are spending their time online has already started resulting in people becoming unsettled. This can be seen that whenever Twitter, Facebook or Instagram stop working, people go crazy and make it an issue that it appears as a headline in newspapers.
5. It is time to introduce ‘internet etiquette’ as a policy where certain norms could be established on how to approach people online without foregoing basic decency.
6. Seminars and education classes on ‘internet positivity’ could be made compulsory in offices and schools.
7. For every offence committed on the internet, instead of going to the court or legal way, I feel that counseling forums and mediation centres should be formed on a district level. I do not think every offence committed online deserves jail time, but mostly counseling and fines and at times social service as a punishment can be applied. I feel that celebrities who are trolled or bullied online do pursue any action because any legal action by them against perpetrators attracts negative publicity which could end up destroying the life of the perpetrators. I feel that communication with the offenders of online offense might be more productive than punishing. These activities need to be kept private so that people can access this method more.
To some people, these solutions might seem far fetched, but the way people have started acting solely on the basis of the interaction on the internet has become scary. The online activities will result in violence in real life and someone who is vigilant enough would know that it has already started happening. In real life, people need convincing and courage to act on any problem, but on the internet, one can be anonymous and write offensive comments about anyone and everyone.
The world is not taking the perils of the internet seriously. India can take the lead in curbing misuse of the internet. After all, history is evident whoever has failed to take action has faced innumerable casualties. I truly hope timely action is taken to check the menace that the internet is becoming, otherwise only time will tell what unintended impact it may have on young minds.