One of the amazing things about the internet in general and social media in particular is that it makes our elected officials and others who should be accountable to the public instantly accessible.
It’s also one of the biggest problems with the internet in general and social media in particular.
We’re running a piece by George Lee, who covers provincial affairs on behalf of rural newspapers in Alberta, in today’s edition. If you haven’t read it, we strongly encourage you to do so.
It’s the first in a series of how digital platforms can disrupt democracy, normalize hate and drive away leaders.
Everyone who is thinking of running for elected office this fall, be it for school board, a county seat, town or village council or a mayor’s chair, should read it – as should those who intend to vote, and most especially those who intend to be critics online
Scrutiny of elected officials and those who seek to become them is an essential part of the democratic process, and social media makes that easier than ever to do. But it’s not a licence to scream abuse at people.
One of the major challenges with online interaction is that it’s easy to view others, be it the elected officials you’re talking about or the other posters you’re interacting with, as objects rather than people. We feel emboldened to type things we would never have the courage to say to someone’s face.
That leads to debate that can spiral out of control quickly. Instead of talking about the real issues we want our elected officials to be dealing with or their qualifications, online debate can quickly become a useless cesspool of personal insults and wild conspiracy theory.
Worse still is the risk that abusive language online becomes violence in real life. You might have some harsh words for your local mayor or council, but you’d never want to throw a rock through the window of their office, let alone at the people themselves. But abusive language, amplified through the filter bubbles of social media, can embolden those who don’t have that level of self-control.
That risk of abuse can also push the balance back the wrong way, resulting in potentially draconian measures by online platforms or governments to curtail all debate to try to forestall abuse. Right now, social media platforms in general are going one way, backing away from moderation, while governments are going the other, with legislation surrounding hate speech under consideration in Parliament.
We’re still looking for the balance between healthy and robust debate and abuse online. But the first line of defence is generally found in your mirror.
In the end, the only person’s speech any of us can effectively control is our own – both what we post and how we react to what others post.
The title of George Lee’s article has an excellent piece of advice on that: “Tweet others as you wish to be treated.”
