We are living in an age where social media can be utilitised in any location (unless it has been restricted by certain nations) whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Beebo, Instagram, Flickr or any other preference.
Electronic media as with most other types of communication (such as speech and music) is neutral, it is the users that determine whether it is utilised for good or bad purposes. It is the social media on computers and other electronic devices that have attracted more attention, especially with the practice of ‘trolling’ (that is posting negative and abusive comments on someone’s Facebook or Twitter post in particular).
Two reports have been published that deal with the negative aspects of this form of media. The first one is simply titled ‘Anti-Social Media’ (J Bartlett et al, Demos, February 2014).
In this report, the researchers had identified that slurs are used in a variety of ways, both offensive and non-offensive. There were six distinct ways in which slurs were manifest on Twitter (which was the main area of research): negative stereotype; casual use of slurs; targeted abuse; appropriated; non-derogatory; and offline action/ideologically driven.
It was estimated that there were approximately 10,000 uses a day of racist and ethnic slur terms in English (that equated to one in every 15,000 tweets).
The range of slurs can mean that they can be often indistinguishable from other forms of language. However, there are clear distinctions in many circumstances: ‘Slurs are distinguishable from other kinds of terms, such as descriptive and expressive (emotionally charged, often hurtful) words because they are taken to target certain groups on the basis of a descriptive gesture such as race or sex. Ethnic slurs are specifically slurs on the basis of race, ethnicity, nationality or religion.’ (p. 12)
How to approach the problem is difficult as the authors admitted: ‘How to define the limits of free speech is a central debate in most modern democracies. This is particularly difficult in relation to hateful, abusive and racist speech. The pattern of hate speech is complex. But there is increasing focus on the volume and nature of hateful or racist speech taking place online; and new modes of communication mean it is easier than ever to find and capture this type of language.’ (p. 5)
Twitter was again the subject of another report (‘Misogyny on Twitter,’ J Bartlett et al, Demos, May 2014).
The key findings of this report were:
· Between 26 December 2013 an d 9 February 2014, there were around 100,000 instances of the word ‘rape’ used in English from UK-based Twitter accounts. The researchers estimate that approximately 12 per cent appeared to be threatening.
· Women are as almost as likely as a man to use the terms ‘slut’ and ‘whore’ on Twitter. Not only are women using these words, they are directing them at each other, both casually and offensively; women are increasingly more inclined to engage in discourses using the same language that has been, and continues to be, used as derogatory against them.
· Between 9 January and 4 February 2014, there were around 131,000 cases of ‘slut’ and ‘whore’ used in English from UK-based Twitter accounts. The researchers estimated that approximately 18 per cent of them appeared to be misogynistic.
· There was a high proportion of ‘casual’ misogyny. Approximately 29 per cent of the ‘rape’ tweets appeared to use the term in a casual or metaphorical way; while approximately 35 per cent of the ‘slut’ and ‘whore’ tweets appeared to use the term in a casual or metaphorical way.
We are encouraged in the Bible to think about ‘whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy.’ (Philippians 4: 8)
This is the aim that we should have when communicating electronically as in any other way. Paul exhorts us to excel in many things, one of which is speech (2 Corinthians 8: 7) as an example of God’s redemptive grace. Our words should as Jesus would want us to communicate (Colossians 4: 6) and be used with restraint like a wise man (Proverbs 17: 27).
Above all, our words in whatever format of communication should be like ‘a honey-comb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones’ (Psalm 16: 24), that is they should be encouraging and uplifting to other people.
We are to use our words, particularly on social media, with wisdom as we cannot take them back.
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