Malta has a population of 493,559, making it one of the smallest countries in the world, however it has the second highest media usage in Europe. Around 79 percent of people use social networks, with 84 percent of youths using social media daily. With so many people using the internet one would think that people know how to use it responsibly but unfortunately Malta has the highest amount of online hate speech in all of Europe [1]. So is everyone on this tiny island an idiot when it comes to social media?
Digital citizenship is the continuous use of technology appropriately, this refers to it in the context of gathering information, communicating or for entertainment. There are a number of individuals who misuse the internet, especially adults and students however there are many other individuals who make us of their digital presence for good.
In today’s world, the, what society calls, Millennials and Gen-Zer’s, grow up surrounded by media, they have been using devices, technologies and social media for years and therefore they become accustomed to using those tools on their own terms, whereas older generations face various challenges in the same situations. We should take into consideration the term digital literacy which are computer-based skills, learning how to use the technology, learning how to use “good search strategies”, and understanding privacy settings. On the other hand, digital citizenship, is the actual online resources, practicing “respectful and tolerant behaviour”.
Online articles dealing with digital citizenship focus on teaching the “proper” use of the internet to the younger generation i.e. children. Schools and youth programmes focus on, protecting personal information on the information; using good judgement and treating others with respect. … say “practicing good digital citizenship makes the online world a more welcoming place for everyone.”
Greta Thunberg
A good example of a person who is a good digital citizen is Greta Thunberg. This 16-year-old, young Swedish activist who uses her social media platforms to try and influence change with regards to her climate change campaign. To express her views, she primarily chose to use Twitter where in 280 characters, the use of photos and videos, posts can be spread in an instant. Twitter made her grow in popularity and in-return has gotten her invited to important meetings, such as TedXStockholm and the World Economic Forum in Davos, to ultimately make her voice heard. From Twitter, her posts and additionally even videos of herself have been shared on Facebook, gone viral on Youtube, sparked thousands of comments and therefore spread around the world. Her speeches, even the ones she did not share herself, were now being shared globally. “the most important communication channel to voice these doubts, seems to be Twitter” said one of her representatives [2].
The MeToo Movement
The MeToo movement is another example of the use of social media to bring light to an important issue. This movement against sexual harassment and sexual assault came to light back in October 2017 after the sexual allegations brought against Harvey Weinstein and spread globally through the use of the hashtag #MeToo. The term MeToo was first used by Tarana Burke back in 2006 and made popular once again by Alyssa Milano in 2017 on Twitter. Burke said that she used “MeToo” after a 13-year-old girl told her [Burke] the story about how she was sexually assaulted to which Burke wished she replied, “Me too”. The aim behind the hashtag was and still is, for women who have been sexually assaulted to speak freely and share their truth to expose the problem that is sexual assault, particularly be female celebrities in Hollywood but also anywhere in the world.
The term “MeToo” was eventually being used by people out in the streets during protests. This shows the power of social media, the issue has grown so much and become so recognised that it is recognisable even on a sign. This is proper use of digital citizenship, women everywhere and anywhere who have access to social media are free to share their story on any platform and spread the word, while also opening up without the fear of being judged.
Cancel Culture
Cancel culture, is a relatively new term dubbed after a number of scandals started emerging, particularly in 2018, where influencers would stop supporting other influencers, financially or digitally, through a series of youtube videos and/or posts.
Contributing to “Cancel culture” are the channels dedicated to “Live subscriber counts”. Socialblade.com is a website that allows for anyone to input a Youtube channels username into their search engine and see that channels stats; daily views, daily, subscriber count (increase/ decrease), income, type of youtuber, their rank and so on. The website also provides a live subscriber count, where one can simply see the figures rolling as individuals subscribe or unsubscribe from that channel. Typically, after there is some form of “drama” in the Youtube community, new channels will emerge with live videos broadcasting the youtubers’ involved in the drama, live subscriber count. The fact that these channels exist, shows that there are people who are enjoying seeing someone’s subscriber account at the, maybe, expense of another’s who might be going up.
Initially the term #cancelled started being used on Twitter in relation to the #MeToo movement, when people started “cancelling” celebrities, highlighting the end of their support of following of that particular celebrity. The individuals who do not support cancel culture, suggest educating those influencers in question about where they went wrong and how can they do better. Semiramìs, in her blogpost titled "The Untold Truth about ‘Cancel Culture’’ wrote that not showing support is keeping influencers in the dark ‘only creating a more difficult experience, in which they won’t learn about their mishaps’.
Many articles have recently started discussing ‘cancelling cancel culture’, because we should not be judges of other people’s morality. People who are in favour of cancelling cancel culture promote being a good digital citizen through forgiveness and growth.
Individuals who are in favour of contributing, on the other hand to cancel culture, quite often appear to highly defend male privilege and white privilege.
Cancel culture in the past, while not being defined as such, was used to cancel homophobic or racist behaviour in general, however nowadays Tea Spill channels and popular culture news sites are taking advantage of these stories, at times being biased to simply create content and promote their own channels.
Love Island’s Camilla Turlow
Camilla Thurlow was a contestant on a popular UK dating show called Love Island. Following the show many of the participants go to become “influencers” on social media; they sign with brand deals, starting spamming their fans with sponsored content and so on. A particular pattern that the female contestants seem to follow is, promoting makeup products, hair vitamins and clothing brands, therefore using their platforms to influence their fans to purchase what they call “their new fave products”. That hasn’t been the case for Camilla Thurlow, who came in second place along her partner Jamie Jewitt. Thurlow, who worked with a bomb disposal unit in Syria decided to use her new celebrity status to promote campaigns to bring water to African countries, to show the heartbreaking reality of war-torn states as well as third world countries. Instead of signing off a show about her life with her partner after Love Island, she was asked to do a mini-series on her return to Syria working with bomb disposal unit. Thurlow can be described as a good digital citizen, using her new found celebrity status to shed light on the harsh realities of third world countries rather than simply offering “30% off charcoal toothpaste” on Instagram.
Ħal Far Riots in Malta
Malta rescues thousands of illegal immigrants every year and unfortunately as a densely to overpopulated country, there is unfortunately no place to house these people except in large centres together. On the 22nd of September, riots broke out against security officers in one of the centres after one migrant wasn’t allowed entry due to him being inhebriated. Around 300 migrants were involved and the incident highlighted an even bigger problem. These individuals were held in the aforementioned centers for over 10 weeks which breaks their human rights.
While riots might not be the best way to send a message, many would sympathise that migrants leave their country in an attempt for a better life. However in Malta, this exposed a large problem amoungst locals. Hate speech. Many reacted to the situation by simply saying “Go back to your country!” While others went on long rants about how migrants should be sent back to their country and never be allowed back in, and how much money from local taxes is allocated to these individuals.
Some comments that stand out are people saying that want to “burn these migrants alive”, or that they want to “grab a machine gun and go for it”, one also went mentioned how he would “gas them Hitler style”.
Unfortunately, this is not the first instance where this has happened. In 2017, journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was brutally murdered and while many people around the world mourned her death, there were some Maltese who logged onto Facebook groups to express their joy, some even going as far as saying that “she deserved it.”
The above, are moments which show that there are people who use social media for good, trying to provoke a positive change in the world. It’s individuals using social media the smart way, however things like cancel culture show were some people’s priorities lie. When there are people like Great Thunberg trying to highlight the problem that is climate change against individuals who take time out of their day to dig up old tweets to potentially end another persons career, shows that there are “idiots” on social media.
There are events which affect on a global level, like the MeToo movement but there are local events, such as the Ħal Far riots in Malta which reflect peoples’ attitudes in terms of social media. There are people who support others online to help bring change and provide support, however the reality is that there are others who will not only prove to be unsupportive but will go the extra mile to spread hate and make it appear to be the right path, which simply put makes those people appear as idiots. The most we can do is try and educate the uneducatable, shape young minds to use social media responsible and contine to spread good or atleast using social media to bring change for a better tomorrow.
[1] Grech D. (2018, September 13). Malta has highest online speech in EU — Eurobarometer. Times of Malta. Retrieved from https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/malta-has-highest-online-hate-speech-in-eu-eurobarometer.689073
[2] Miazga R. (2019, March 25). Greta Thunberg — the young face of climate change. Sentione. Retrieved from https://sentione.com/blog/greta-thunberg-the-young-face-of-climate-change
Semìramis (2018, April 5th). The Untold Truth about ‘Cancel Culture’. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@vcasaisvila/the-untold-truth-about-cancel-culture-3675cac983c3
Bond, K. (2018, October 28th). Love Island’s Camilla lands her own solo show: star to leave boyfriend Jame and explore Cambodia. Radiotimes. Retrieved from https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-10-29/love-island-camilla-solo-itv-show-boyfriend-jamie-jewitt/
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