Two decades ago Monica Lewinsky became known to the world as the former White House intern who had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with then US President Bill Clinton.
She was torn apart by the press, slut-shamed, and couldn’t find a job.
This week she’s been reflecting on her public shaming in a series of interviews, where she says she ‘refuses to be a victim.’
She’s been working on a campaign called Click With Compassion which she hopes will discourage people from clicking on stories that shame women, and therefore stop media outlets from writing them. And she’s developed a series of anti-bullying emoji – called #BeStrong.
But what does she make of modern-day shaming, and how has it changed?
‘Some of our social media arenas have become online coliseums,’ she told The Evening Standard. ‘When we wrap fear around difference, that’s what creates the chasm between [people]. We’re living at a time when we see the best of people and the worst of people.’
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In the same interview, she touched on the negative effect daily social media shaming could have on our public discussions.
'We will eventually — whether we realise it or not — start censoring ourselves. We’ll think about how we are expressing our opinions through the lens of "Will I be lambasted?" That’s a very dangerous place for us to go as a society.'
Lewinsky talks about this more in her 2015 TED talk, which is an eye-opening one, she describes public shaming as a ‘blood sport’, and says she was ‘Patient Zero’ in the practice of losing your reputation online in such a short space of time – something that happens all too often today.
So, why are we still shaming people online today?
Open the Twitter app on any given day and you’ll be able to see what’s trending, usually, it’s a National or World day of some kind, a TV show that people are watching, a sponsored hashtag from a new release, and then there are the names.
Sometimes celebrities that you’ve heard of, sometimes journalists or public figures, sometimes an employee who misjudged a situation and said something they shouldn’t have.
So, you tap the screen and the tweets come flooding in, people sharing their opinions, why they disagree with what the person did, what they should’ve done instead, and there are always a few people suggesting the person go and kill themselves.
Jon Ronson has spoken so well on the subject of online shaming that he gets tagged into the conversation on Twitter whenever someone is being publicly dragged. ‘What do you think of this public shaming @jonronson’ they’ll quote tweet, with an article or thread of tweets on the latest person to be ripped apart by the public sitting neatly below.
The truth is, everyone makes mistakes, and now you’re more likely to shamed online than ever before.
Throughout my career as a social media manager, I’ve had to develop a series of coping mechanisms – big brands make mistakes too (surprise!) and people have no issue going to town on a faceless brand on social media.
You have to remind yourself that people forget you’re a real person once you go behind an avatar, and this is especially true if you have a large following or if it’s a company account because people may assume you don’t even control your own accounts, and so don’t see the tweets, DMs and comments.
And it’s not just on Twitter, go on your Snapchat or Instagram stories and you’ll see people filming videos and taking pictures of someone eating something in a ‘funny’ way, someone’s weave looking slightly off key on the bus, or an old ladies’ unpedicured feet on the tube.
Wear an outfit that’s a little outrageous like some harem pants, a very tall up-do or a statement coat and you might find yourself doing the rounds on Twitter as a meme.
So, as Jon Ronson says, ‘don’t be an unpaid shaming intern’, let's think twice about piling abuse on people online and remember that they are real human people who shouldn't have to log on to their social media accounts to receive a torrent of abuse from strangers, there are better ways to let someone know you don't agree with them.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.