Cyberbullying, or the use of information technology to repeatedly and deliberately harass other people, is a relatively new term. Yet it has become such a common act since 1998 that we are already in need of a cultural intervention on a global scale.
After being publicly silent for a decade, Monica Lewinsky has emerged as the unexpected yet ideal advocate to speak against cyberbullying and public shaming. At a recent TED conference, Lewinsky delivered a bold and impactful talk, “The price of shame.”
Lewinsky, a White House intern in 1998, describes herself as having been “the centre of a political, legal, media maelstrom, a scandal brought to the world for the first time by the digital revolution.”
Since the age of 24, she faced “mobs of virtual stone throwers.” Technologically enhanced shaming is amplified, uncontained and permanently accessible says Lewinsky. “Millions of people anonymously can stab you with their words.”
As unbearable as this targeted humiliation was, would it have been worse if it had happened today? The birth of the internet has given words an everlasting lifespan, and with its social media offspring, online bullies have several more platforms with which to shame and spread harmful jokes and slander.
Lewinsky points out that the victims of this “culture of humiliation” are notably women, youth, minorities, and members of the LGBTQ community.
Revenge porn is another example of the cyberbullying pandemic. Sexually explicit media is publicly shared online without the consent of the pictured individual and is often uploaded by ex-partners with an intention to shame. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative found that 90 per cent of revenge porn victims were women.
Cyberbullying and public shaming nearly cost Lewinsky her life, and for some, it did.
Such was the case with 15 year old Amanda Todd, from British Columbia, who committed suicide following her experience of being blackmailed into exposing her breasts via webcam, bullied online, and physically assaulted.
Nova Scotia teen Rehtaeh Parsons committed suicide 17 months after four boys gang raped her and released images of her online, causing subsequent and constant bullying and harassment.
“We talk a lot about our right to freedom of expression,” says Lewinsky, “but we need to talk more about our responsibility to freedom of expression.”
What can we, as individuals, do to stop cyberbullying? Lewinsky suggests we return to our values of compassion and empathy and “become an online upstander.” Instead of being a bystander, leave positive comments and posts, report bullying, and avoid clicking on shameful videos, banners and news stories that will encourage and feed the wallets of cyberbullies.
Another way to take action is to show support for positive and empathic movements online and in your community. Friday, April 3, 2015 is International Day against Victim Blaming, a movement commemorating and continuing the international actions against sexual violence, victim-blaming and public shaming.
In 1998, Lewinsky had few defenders. Perhaps if the same story had broken today, a community of support would meet cyberbullies on the online front.
“Just imagine,” says Lewinsky, “…walking a mile in someone else’s headline.”
