Now That Hate Has Become A Trend...

I really believe the world is fortunate to have social media as a means of communication, and the importance of it has gone beyond just the regular communication. Over the years, the rise in the use of social media has made it a safe environment for expressing oneself, but somehow, a lot of people now abuse the freedom in that space.

Many users have made trampling on the privileges social media has brought to mankind an obsession; they do it without any remorse just because their identity might be hidden. They believe you can't find them, so they have the mindset of going scot-free no matter what their crimes are online, but unfortunately for them, a lot has changed regarding that.

Hating, defamation, identity theft, and cyberbullying have become trends in the social space, and they keep happening every day despite how much effort security agencies are trying to curb these terrible obsessions for several social media users. It's so bad that some people can only think of attacking their fellow humans online just to get attention, and many times, I wonder how the culprits feel after carrying out those silly acts.

Although my engagement in the social space might be very little, I still see so many things happening there, especially with the use of hate speech. This reminds me of a slang that was circulating on TikTok some time ago; people were fond of saying that "we are online, so you can say anything, but if we meet physically, you dare not speak to me."

I believe that's the reality with online hating and others; a lot of people won't dare to say a word when they meet their victims in reality, so why attack them online in the first place?

Just this week, we saw a lady throwing shade at Victor Boniface, calling him untalented. This Nigerian footballer, who is known for posting memes, is admired by many, and before he would say a word, a lot of users spoke on his behalf before he dropped a bomb about the lady's hairline.

Let's put the social media away for a bit; would this lady have the courage to say the same hate speech if Victor Boniface was sitting next to her during the podcast? I bet she can't because the footballer isn't on any level with her, but the lady got what she wanted, which is fame, and that's one thing I dislike about the social space. We promote things we should and even give people the courage to become online trolls since it's rewarding.

Just pick a target start saying shit and watch your followers pump and if you are unlucky, things can go south but the risk is worth taking for many.

I have seen people use hate speech against pastors, celebrities, and even the government, which makes zero sense to me. After all, we can express our differences with people in a polite way without hurting their feelings or messing up their reputation, so why hate?

Fortunately for me, I haven't been targeted by anyone in the social space, and even if it happens, I might not know since my engagement there is quite minimal, but if such happens, my reaction would be determined by how much damage the culprit has caused me.

I know about the cruise-catching thing where people tease the big names to get attention and boost their followers. I might overlook that as long as you're not defaming me in any way, but the moment the culprits start dragging my reputation or putting my safety at risk, I wouldn't hesitate to take legal action, but that would be after warning the person to desist from the act.

Many people believe that there aren't laws online, which isn't true because the law in reality applies online, and we must be very careful with the things we do, especially now that the Nigerian security agencies aren't taking online offenders slightly anymore.

We are not kids any longer, and I believe not just our physical engagement with people should be matured. Interacting and other engagement online should be done maturely to prevent punishment that is capable of ruining our lives beyond the social space.

I always tell people to remember that the social space never forgets, and repercussions in life don't announce themselves before swinging into action. We must be careful of the impact we have on others through our online engagement.

_{All Image Are Mine.}