Facebook’s Kangaroo court is making Paddy Public judge and executioner
IGOT an interesting message fed to me on Facebook over the weekend from somebody who was wrongly accused of abetting in a ‘ burglary’. The man was out with his son and his son’s friend looking for one of their mutual friend’s houses. When one of the boys approached a house and rang the doorbell, he was hunted from the door.
Within a few hours a message was posted on a neighbourhood watch Facebook page, which featured a photo which clearly showed the car’s number plate and the car reg.
The report posted by the home owner claimed that a youth got out and knocked at the door of the house. ‘I went to get the key, he rang the door bell. As I was going to the door he had his hand on the handle trying to open it. I shouted to get away from the handle and they left before I got the door open knowing full well I was home. It might be nothing but I thought I’d post it to see if this car has been acting suspiciously anywhere.’
The driver soon became the focus of online opprobrium and was called a scumbag. Worse insults were meted out against the youth who approached the door.
People opined that they should be beaten up and somebody else questioned why they fled the scene.
Not for the first time Facebook mass hysteria has gotten a grip of people who thoughtlessly post their opinions, casting disapproving dagger eyes across the net because frankly they are bored or wound up, or a combination of both.
The social media website is being used as an online dumping ground for people’s pent up frustrations. How easy to attack someone you don’t know from the comfort of your apartment or house.
The comment format doesn’t help either as people bid to outdo one another in the ferocity of their opinions to get attention or ‘ likes’.
The driver reported New Ross Neighbourhood Watch Facebook page to gardaí who are investigating the matter. Having been contacted by the driver the Facebook page removed the offending post and picture and promptly apologised. But here’s the rub, what if someone acted on an erroneous report and the driver or any of the children were attacked?
What is the logical end game to these online games and why are adults engaging in them?
As we drift further and further into our tablets, smartphones and laptops to communicate our language is changing. The loud mouth suddenly has a soap box. The addict an outlet. In his message the driver said ‘mob mentality is alive and well’ and it is hard to disagree with him. In 1692 and 1693 the Salem witch trials produced mass hysteria in a small Massachuesetts community. Today Facebook is a forum where people think can they destroy people’s characters by ganging up on them. ‘He said or did what?!’ stories on people’s Newsfeeds can, within seconds, lead to incredible paroxysms of rage against people. Once posted the Facebook addict feels a release and they move on blissfully ignorant.
The driver put it well when he said: ‘How people can be so influenced by Facebook is very scary. A lot of clever people saw this post and shared it without thinking about any consequences. Maybe people will think before they blindly like or share things. And us as adults say we need to keep an eye on what our kids’ post, well maybe we should look at what we post ourselves.’