Why blame social media for its toxic users’ activity?

Social media platforms have become the latest villains in the headlines. I find it alarming that we are looking to vilify the sites rather than the users that abuse them.

As soon as we start blaming the platforms for wrongdoing, we are allowing the people who are spreading toxicity to simply throw their hands up and say, “the media made me do it.”

It’s an old defence, and one I feel is making a comeback. People are focusing too much on the sites themselves and not enough on the people using them. After all, are we not responsible for our actions? This must include our actions online.

There should be consequences for the individuals who are spreading hate or using their social media accounts to violate others. The news loves to focus on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp; my fear is that we will lose focus of the fact that real people are still behind these accounts.

“Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls,” read a September headline in the Wall Street Journal. Duh! I wish headlines focused on what was posted and by whom.

Magazine covers over the years have been toxic to teenage girls as well then, right? Where was the public when 80-pound models were promoting lifestyle advice to young girls on their front covers? Editors didn’t know this would be harmful to teens — seriously?

We must teach our youth about self-respect and confidence so that they have the tools to know when not to click, and be able to navigate from wearying online content that could cause them anxiety.

Our culture seems fine with these images because we are in an era of social media and technology. Previously, magazines were blamed for things like dieting articles targeted at young girls.

But this wasn’t an intrinsic fault of magazines as a medium — it was due to the writers and editors producing this content.

Why is our culture now so comfortable saying that social media is the cause? We must not forget that these messages still have authors, and they too should be held accountable.

I am not saying that these platforms have no responsibility. They do, but by focusing coverage on how Instagram itself is the culprit behind teens’ damaged self-confidence, we take the responsibility away from the users who are posting content that would make young people feel that way. After all, many magazines made me feel insecure in my teens — however, they remained on shelves.

We are in a time where accountability must be a real thing in the virtual world. We have been online for years now, and spend even more time there due to the pandemic. The headlines that turn on social media provide an excuse to blame the actual platforms, when in fact it’s the users who make it toxic.

Marshall McLuhan said “The medium is the message.” Sure, the medium is important, but we must not blame the medium. Let’s focus on who is sending what message. Penny Mamais is a professor with the School of English and Liberal Studies at Seneca College.