The effects of the internet on modern society have been incredible. There is little knowledge that cannot be found in a relatively short time through a search query. People from all over the world can communicate more easily in real time. Social media gives the average person a potentially endless audience and promotes expression, both artistic and political. There is however, a negative side to social media which creates injustice and gives rise to a mob mentality. As a society we had better start looking at this problem before it is too late. There have been several cases where instances of internet mob mentality have ruined people’s lives. There were the three people falsely accused of the Boston Bombings on Twitter (Alexis C. Madrigal). Then there were two men in their seventies who lost their jobs as a result of stopping for a donut on a …show more content…
People can simply start using their heads for something besides a sieve and start thinking critically for themselves. This may be happening more frequently as a backlash of the insanity of the last couple of years. We see increasingly ex “Social Justice Warriors” as well as many “Conservatives” taking different stances on issues that hardliners push such as gay marriage or the use of cannabis. Divide and conquer has been the rule of thumb in oppressing people since the dawn of time. It is not hard now to see how easily the mob mentality prevalent in social media can be used to do just that. This concept is as dangerous in the context of Twitter or Facebook as it was in the context of a lynch mob. Justice is a concept that is foreign to most of us today. We may consider the world so corrupt that it no longer exists. We cannot subscribe to that belief, because if we do we give up. We must strive to change our world through legal means and to do so without unjustly harming
After reading and viewing the mob mentality pieces, I conclude that mobs were gruesome groups that were hard to stop when in the action. For Instance, in the NPR Radio Diaries, it talks about how a mob a lynched two of three boys and broke into a place station to get the last boy ( “ Strange Fruit: Anniversary of a Lynching” ). This shows that mobs were virtually unstoppable. They were not satisfied until everyone they wanted dead were dead. They were willing break into the holding cells and get in trouble or hurt just to have one more person dead. Another idea that supports this conclusion is from S.E. Smith’s article “ What is Mob Mentality? “, the article talks about about if some people get trampled when there is a lot of urgency or
There are many connections that the article, 'Examining the Mob Mentality' contain with the literary art 'Lord of the Flies'. One of the major connections that the article states is that "Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in alone". In 'Lord of the Flies', we can see right off the bat that Jack had been been influencing the boys once Ralph had suggested making a fire to come to their rescue through the quote "The space under the palm tree was full of noise and movement. Ralph was on his feet too, shouting for quiet, but no one heard him. All at once the crowd swayed toward the island and was gone-- following Jack". The connection to the
After reading and viewing the mob mentality pieces, I conclude that people in a mob mentality situation do not think rationally and conform under peer pressure. I was able to come to this conclusion because of the articles explaining human behaviors. Many behavioral studies have been conducted on animals and humans. One reason many people conform to others around them is because of wanting to be accepted or have a sense of belonging (Smith). In the photograph by Lawrence Beitler at the lynching many people came from all over the area to see the lynching take place. People in the mob beat the boys up before they were lynched (“Strange Fruit: Anniversary of a Lynching”) The men who did this obviously were not thinking very rationally
Social media is commonly used worldwide as a tool for learning and communication. However, the benefits are compromised by the inability to contain the contents shared and the misbehaviour of its users. Social media intervenes with the strict regulations of gun distribution, is used as a method of propaganda by terrorist organizations and is a platform that eases the execution of hate crimes in the form of cyberbullying. The aspect of efficiency and anonymity on social media makes it the largest contributor in violating laws across national borders, leading to more chaos and tragedy than convenience.
Me and my class recently learned about Mob Mentality. In the stories we read there were many examples of this and the consequences of it. There are many consequences to mob mentality. One example is in "Monsters Are Due On Maple Street." The people all follow the crowd and up resorting to violence instead of using their own reasoning. Another example is in "The Salem Witch Trials." Where one person thought up the myth of witches then soon everyone believed witches were among them. But, there is also "wisdom of the crowd." Wisdom of the crowd is when the crowd does the right thing. There are examples of this is "Follow the Leader." In this story there are examples of the good of mob mentality, such as safety in numbers, and how usually, the
The idea of mob mentality is complex. Mob mentality is difficult to define. There are many different types of behavior characteristics depending on the type of mob (Smith). Most mobs are negative and full of negative people (Smith). When most people think of a “mob” they think of aggression or chaos (Smith). There are many reasons why people act the way they do in mobs. People’s emotions run wild while they are in a mob (Edmonds). Most people are either sad or angry when in a mob. Mobs at sporting events usually get riled up quite easily because of group solidarity (Edmonds). People join mobs for the excitement, or so they can feel more powerful than everybody else (Edmonds). There are many different types of behaviors in a mob. When angry
There are multiple dangers in a mob mentality. You’ll come across lots of invalid assumptions and the wrong people can get hurt. On top of that, the people who should be getting caught will try to get away with more and spread lies to cover up for their actions. Lastly, this usually ends in more bad than it does good.
After reading the articles about mob mentality i can define it as the way people act behave and think in a large group of people, or it can be defined as the thinking of a large group of people. When large groups gather and the emotions are heightened the group is more likely to do something they would never do by themselves. As a result people in the group will do something they will regret later whether they regret it in minutes or days it does not matter, eventually they will realize what they did was wrong. The reasoning behind this is they are in a large crowd and they believe their actions will have no consequences and the cops will not be able to find them. During all of that commotion the crowds the best people can turn into a common
Have you ever done something without just because someone else was doing it? Even though you might not realize it, you most likely do it every day. Mob mentality is when people are influenced by their peers and will share their behaviors. It is also happens frequently in crowds. Throughout history, people have taken advantage of this tendency. One example was Hitler. He would plant people in the crowd during his speeches and have them cheer and clap loudly. The rest of the crowd would also cheer as a result, giving the appearance that everyone approved of Hitler and his ideas, hence spreading his hold throughout the public. Because of the human desire to “fit in”, people felt they had to go along with the crowd and therefore followed the other’s
Plus, social media does such a good job at connecting people from different places, and different cultures, for example, if you live California you can talk to a family member and friends, living in Canada. This can be great for our society because it can bring people from different cultures closer, so you can learn about more agriculture differences. This can teach some people about different religions and opinions, so it can educate society. Furthermore, social media is good for our society because it can also be great for large organization arranging plans. social media does such a great at arranging organizations that nobody would think of using anything else.
“One of the most popular social media sites, Facebook, has 1.4 billion users around the world, nearly a fifth of the world's population, thus helping us to better understand, learn and share information instantaneously making the world look like a small village” (Amedie 2015, Pg. 5). This just shows how many people are watching and reading articles, which pop up on their timeline. Another thing Facebook promotes is different social groups. This makes it easier for individuals to join groups, and these groups could be radical groups or hate groups, which promote supremacy or racism. If people are exposed to extremist or racist views through social media, they could easily be emotionally swayed to participate in criminal acts against other groups. “In today's world, it is undeniable that social media plays an important role in impacting our culture, our economy and our overall view of the world” (Amedie 2015, Pg. 3). Social media is the platform that brings people to exchange ideas, connect with one another, seek advice and offer guidance, good or bad. Since the start of the social media era, communication barriers have been removed and the door has been opened for people to voice or share their opinion, as they please. Again the media outlet accommodates a wide variety of formal and informal unscholarly writings to
Mob mentality is a serious problem. It usually happens when you are in a group. People will get influenced by the people in the group by following their ways. It is similar to having peer pressure because everyone is doing it and may feel left out. Mob mentality causes problems. When there is a problem in a big group, they usually panic because everyone is doing it so they have the urgency to trample each other because they are trying to leave the situation the fastest way possible.
Social media is now home to symbolic modeling. An advantage to symbolic modeling in that it can send information to an infinite amount of people in different locations in no time (Bandura, 2005). People will film themselves physically or verbally abusing other individuals while others just watch and encourage them. While they know it is wrong they do nothing to help these people and in a sense are helping to victimize these individuals that are being abused. There are also fights in comment sections and the general saying is that it is online so what could it hurt? Thousands of people watch and read these comments all day. People can just hangout and observe the way others live there life and don’t say a word. As young children begin to read
The impact social media has had on our society is staggering. A study from 2013 found that nearly two billion people around the world utilized social media. To put that into perspective, that 's one in every four person. Social media has spread from being a youth-oriented concept to one that even the elderly have accepted. People who couldn 't check their e-mail are suddenly connecting and sharing with friends and family around the world.
Social media is a tool, and like any tool it can be used for good purposes or not so good purposes. Depending on how it is used social media like Facebook, Twitter, Etc. can be a great asset to modern democracy, but unfortunately it can also be a great threat to modern democracy. Social media can give a voice to the voiceless, raise money for charity, spread a revolution, and diversify the news you see if you use it right. Social media could also be used to spread fake news or biased news if people don’t take the time to double check facts before sharing. This can have far reaching effects, like ruining someone’s career, or influencing someone’s decision on which candidate they may vote for in the upcoming election. Social media, like any tool, can be used in a variety of ways, some of which can have far reaching impacts, both good and bad depending on how it is used.