FRENCH FOOTBALLER THIERRY HENRY QUITS SOCIAL MEDIA OVER RACISM AND BULLYING CONCERNS

Prominent French footballer and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry announced his decision to quit social media on March 26 as an act of protest against online racist abuse and bullying. “Hi Guys. From tomorrow morning I will be removing myself from social media until the people in power are able to regulate their platforms with the same vigour and ferocity that they currently do when you infringe copyright,” Henry tweeted to his 2.3 million followers. He presumed to say that the level of racism, bullying and resulting mental torture has become too toxic to ignore, calling for more accountability across major social networks. The decision comes in the wake of multiple incidents of online racist abuse targeting black footballers. Henry is not the first celebrity to have taken on such a move recently. Just a few days earlier, American model and entrepreneur Chrissy Teigen who has always been one of the most active celebrities on Twitter announced she was leaving the platform, also citing online abuse. “For over 10 years, you guys have been my world. I honestly owe so much to this world we have created here. I truly consider so many of you my actual friends. But it’s time for me to say goodbye. This no longer serves me as positively as it serves me negatively, and I think that’s the right time to call something,” she tweeted prior to deactivating her Twitter account. This comes amid increased Twitter efforts to target online harassment and reduce cyberbullying on the platform. But as more people continue to be affected by online abuse on a daily basis, could this prompt more social media users to follow suit?