Had I the financial means, I often think I'd be quite content living as a recluse. I prefer spending personal time in solitude. I attribute this to being an introvert, though that is possibly an excuse. This introversion and desire to minimize social interaction on a need-to basis may explain why, to date, I have never had a social media account and have absolutely no interest in doing so. Jon Ronson's So You Have Been Publicly Shamed (2015) only strengthens my resolve.
Zooming in to the experiences of Justine Sacco and Jonah Lehrer while peppering other relevant anecdotes throughout, Ronson examines and details what he considers to be a resurgence of public shaming, which has historically been used as a form of social control. Ronson argues that this revival of the form, however, is unprecedented in that the viral nature of public shaming via social media, particularly Twitter, has catastrophic effects unlike anything experienced before in history.
Informative and engaging in the way of Malcolm Gladwell, So You Have Been Publicly Shamed is also well-researched. Ronson raises more questions than he answers in a way that challenges social media users to reflect on the role they play in what is developing into a culture of cyber cruelty. While for the most part Ronson attempts to be objective, So You Have Been Publicly Shamed does seem to be a caution against the slippery slide towards becoming the Thought Police. In the end, the biggest questions Ronson raise are these: Why does social media make people feel entitled to censure and ruin lives by acting as judge, jury, and executioner? Why do we not see this phenomena as a danger?
Informative and engaging in the way of Malcolm Gladwell, So You Have Been Publicly Shamed is also well-researched. Ronson raises more questions than he answers in a way that challenges social media users to reflect on the role they play in what is developing into a culture of cyber cruelty. While for the most part Ronson attempts to be objective, So You Have Been Publicly Shamed does seem to be a caution against the slippery slide towards becoming the Thought Police. In the end, the biggest questions Ronson raise are these: Why does social media make people feel entitled to censure and ruin lives by acting as judge, jury, and executioner? Why do we not see this phenomena as a danger?
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