As a social media user, I find it difficult to ignore the frequency of public shaming posts.
Recently, I saw on Facebook about a guy who agreed to let a person he barely knew use his car for a fee. When the money stopped coming in, he decided to report to the authority as well as post all his details on social media.
While some people sympathised with the poster, I was more inclined to believe there was another side to the story and held my judgement. But what worried me more is the fact that the person’s personal information – identity card number, phone number and address – is now on the Internet for all to see.
Perhaps the poster ran out of patience and decided to seek justice himself. Or worse, what if it didn’t happen and it was all made up?
It worries me that public shaming seems to be the go-to solution for a certain group of people. Suspect the husband has been cheating with a friend? Post all her details on social media, even when there’s no evidence to back it up. Let all the followers be the judge and jury.
I hope we’re not yet at the point of no return, because should public shaming be normalised, the world would be a far worse place to live in.
Concerned Facebooker
