Cyber harassment, a new phenomenon with no objective definition

With the multiplication of electronic tools, communication channels and access to information, new forms of violence are emerging like cyber harassment. Indeed, although these technologies have many advantages, they also have the potential to turn into a negative experience.

It is from the 1990s onwards that currents of thought relating to cyber violence and cyber harassment developed. Even today, defining these concepts remains difficult. There is a lack of conceptual clarity and is used to talk about all forms of online violence. There is no consensus on their definition. For example, N. Willard defines cyber harassment as “defamation, harassment or discrimination, disclosure of personal information or humiliating, aggressive, vulgar language”. She does not consider repetition to be a condition of cyber harassment as is the case for so-called traditional harassment.

Violence facilitated by anonymity affecting mostly young people

As young people are the category of people who use the Internet and new technologies the most, they are the first to be affected by this phenomenon. They are going to be victims of mockery, threats, insults, sexual assaults, ostracism, rumours, dissemination of humiliating images, lynching… This can happen through different means such as e-mails, text message, instant messaging or social networks.

The particularity of this form of violence is that the aggressor will feel safe, he will dare more than if he had the victim in front of him. The fact of being somewhat anonymous has a disinhibiting effect on the aggressors. Moreover, the negative impact of this violence on the victim is invisible to the aggressor. In this sense, he will not be able to develop any form of sensitivity or empathy towards the victim.

The need for appropriate prevention

Cyberbullying will first of all have psychological consequences for young people. The victim will feel guilty, powerless and devalued. As a result, the victim will lose self-confidence and develop psychological disorders. These may include stress, anxiety, bad moods, shame, school or social phobia or depression. These disorders generally lead to physical problems such as sleep disorders, memory loss, nervousness, dizziness, eating disorders or even bodily mutilation.

Very often, cyberstalkers are young people in difficulty who have a bad relationship with their parents or teachers and who themselves have this dual status (victim, aggressor). It is therefore essential that both the victim and the perpetrator are helped by the parents and the school. It is important to set up a prevention system. This should be done through the action of parents as well as the school. The national education system has a fundamental role to play in transmitting the values associated with responsible use of the Internet. Teachers must therefore inform pupils and raise their awareness of the good practices to be adopted on the Internet. Parents will also be responsible for this prevention and it is up to them to remind children of the rules of common sense, the principles of precaution and respect for oneself and others.C

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a progressist judge and an icon of feminist struggles. She died on the 18th of September 2020 of pancreatic cancer. Her death caused immense grief for feminist activists. Many people went to the supreme court to deposit commemorative objects to pay homage to her. It also raised a disagreement between Republicans and Democrats less than two months away from the presidential elections. D. Trump wants to designate a conservative judge before the 3rd of November which is the date of the presidential election. On their part, democrats want to wait until January hoping to win the presidential election.

• The supreme court: the apex of judicial power

The supreme court of the US is not a simple court of justice, it is the apex of judicial power and the court of last instance. It has an immense impact on US society. Its function is to determine if decision, law, decrees developed by the different states or by the federal state are in conformity with the constitution. Its decision is without appeal. The decisions taken but the supreme court allow to decide on major societal issues. This is why composition is so important.

This court is composed of nine judges, including a president. The President of the US appoints them on a proposal; the senate must approve then. This appointment is for life which induces a certain irremovability. Until now, there were a majority of conservative judges. Five were appointed by r********n presidents of which two by Trump. In order to have a balance, the president of the supreme court, John G.Roberts, who is conservative, voted sometimes in favor of some and some other time in favor of others. However, this balance will surely be damaged after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

• Trump’s announcement of the replacement at the Supreme Court: bad news for women’s rights, gender equality and the LGBTQ+ movement

Trump has already announced the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett as the replacement of Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the supreme court. She is conservative, a leader of the movement against the abortion and a figure of the religious right. She would be the sixth conservative judge at the supreme court. This means that it would lead to the Supreme court decisions being tilted the balance to the right-wing.

In other words, the appointment of this judge will conduct to a questioning of the acquired rights of women, homosexuals and transgender people. If Trump wins the next presidential, she will help him to abolish the decisive victories of the LGBTQ movement. If he does not, she will be a barrier to the progress of society. In any case, it is bad news for human rights.

• The Senate still can challenged this appointment  

The Senate has the power to decide not to take a decision right away and wait for the next presidential election. Currently, Republicans hold a slim majority of 53 senators. Nevertheless, among these 53 Senators two are moderated.  They announced that they are not in favor of a nomination prior to the presidential elections. In the event of a perfect tie, it would be up to the Vice President, Mike Pence, to decide.

Actually, because of this hypothetical appointment the women’s and LGBTQ+’s rights are in danger. However, the Senate can still  safeguard their rights, there is hope.

The social dilemma is a new Netflix documentary directed by Jeff Orlowski. The aim of the documentary is to show the dark side of social networks. It is composed by the testimony of tech experts on their own creations and a fiction part. This movie is hard to watch because it puts you face to face with reality of what social networks are all about. Watching this movie in an opportunity to question your relation with social networks. It reminds that by using social networks you are the product. It makes alarming observations especially regarding young people.

• An addiction comparable to drugs

They designed algorithms of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok etc. to release dopamine into the brain. The “happiness hormone is the other name of this molecule. The brain released it during experiences associated with pleasure, and especially at the time of drug consumption. The massive release of dopamine may cause behavioural disorders like hyper-sexuality or addiction.

Also, the documentary made another drug connection. It is about the way to name consumers; in both cases, we are talking about “users”.

• A definite impact on mental health

This documentary linked the massive use of social networks by young people and the increase in the number of suicides. By using these platforms, young people compare themselves with others. They pay attention to the amount of “likes” they get on their publications, how many “followers” they have, or commentaries they receive. These ways of demonstrating their interest may have a positive impact but it also has a negative one. As we saw it in the documentary, their producer did not planned the  negative impact, one of them said that he did not realize it and just wanted to give love.

On social networks, people have this ease to be mean to others. They do not realize the impact of their words. The self-esteem and self-confidence can be impacted in so many ways on social networks and especially on Instagram. This platform is full of photoshopped pictures that show men and women with so-called “perfect bodies”. It suggests all users to comply with beauty standards that they defined, and which do not fit with reality. Nevertheless, more and more people try to fight against it by creating accounts that show people who do not fit with these standards, but it is still a small part.

• Tools made to manipulate

A terrifying point that it reveals is how these platforms use our data to manipulate all of us and put in danger democracies by the polarization. This observation is all the more terrifying when one understands that the result is not an accident. The desire to manipulate user behavior is avowed. This means that if these tools fall into the hands of people such as dictators, they will be able to manipulate us without us even realizing it. Moreover, it is thanks to these manipulation techniques that Russia has been able to instrumentalize social networks to weaken Hillary Clinton during the last U.S. presidential elections.

In other words, this documentary, which mixed interviews and fiction thus giving strong credibility. It evokes interesting facts, most of which are not new but important to underline. The funny thing to note is that Netflix uses these algorithms as well to make personal suggestions. However, by making this documentary available on Netflix, it will raise awareness among young people who are the main users of the platform.