Destructive criticism in social networks: the dark side of web 2.0

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Experts debate the phenomenon of excessive criticism on the Internet and its consequences in real scenarios when it transforms into violence

Creating a profile in social networks and having a little interaction in them is enough to become victims or emitters of scathing criticism that, camouflaged under freedom of expression of which web 2.0 communicates, can affect mental health and public image of others.

Leer en español: Críticas destructivas en redes sociales: el lado oscuro de la web 2.0

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 800 thousand people commit suicide per year, this being the second cause of death in adolescents and young adults since 2016. Many of these cases have been associated with the pressure exerted in social networks by teasing, harassment, distortion of reality and the promotion of anxiety and depression disorders.

In this society it has become necessary to express, through new technologies, the events that affect us as individuals or as a community, from a very personal position. With the aim of generating debates that lead to a possible solution, it has become popular to use a language that jumps the barrier of respect until falling into the macabre game of offense.

"I think we are at a very important point on the subject of criticism. I think we overflow too much anger, I think we lack prudence, we lack generosity and, above all, we need to ask before issuing a trial. We have to first know and check the information. Today there is much access to false information, we can not assume that everything they say about a person is true", says Chilean psychologist and youtuber Pilar Sordo in her most recent video entitled The Power of Criticism and Social Networks .

At the beginning of this year, the Colombian comedian "La Liendra" was news when he was intercepted by motorcyclists who broke the panoramic front of his car for a comment he made on his Instagram account about the population residing on the Caribbean Coast, which was not well received by some followers. To stop this situation, the young man had to clarify to the public that everything was a simple joke.

Given the sharpness of this phenomenon of non tolerance with diverse thinking, the question that arises is the following: How do critics in virtual environments manage to transcend reality with violent acts that threaten the physical integrity of a person?

According to the Spanish psychologist and writer Patricia Ramírez , this behavior is derived from the accumulation of emotions such as anger, feelings such as frustration, the eagerness with which life is faced and the poor mental balance.

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"Another reason is that we do not know how to criticize constructively; we think that conflicts are resolved by insulting or speaking louder, and without arguments ; Then, people end up attacking others with the idea that they get power. There are also people who are clumsy when talking and not trained in social skills, and many other people do so with the intention of provoking you. The provocation is another way of relating to people. There are people who find it funny, but I do not", says Ramírez.

However, to determine which actions are key to avoid negative criticism affecting the moral of the human being, the Colombian actress Martha Isabel Bolaños and the American influencer, Tom Bull, expressed what are their most frequent behaviors when the comments boxes in their networks social networks register messages with offensive content towards them.

"I ignore them. I understand that it is normal not to like everyone, and if they insult me I know that it is the problem of who says it, not mine. Everyone takes what he has in his heart, "says Bolaños.

While Bull argues that everything is a matter of attitude. "To be honest, I rarely receive criticism of that kind; however, these usually hurt me for about 15 seconds, then I laugh at them and that's it. "

In conclusion, the psychologist Patricia Ramírez adds that if there is a solution and this lies in the proper handling of the paralinguistic language that has a message, that is, the intonation, the volume, the pauses and their content because, ultimately, "you have to get trained, because there is no gene for this ".

LatinAmerican Post | Carlo Mario Torres Nieves

Translated from "Críticas destructivas en redes sociales: el lado oscuro de la web 2.0"