• • J 11!1 The •unsocial' facets of social x ( + c Apps i lnternatlonalhatestudtes.com/the-unsoclal-facets-of-social-medla-platforms/ ti .. • 6 'JI c t':i Cl a Ill\\ - • 0 ~~~~~~~~~ Home Blog The 'unsociar facets of social media platforms The 'unsocial' facets of social media platforms On 8th May 2020 by INHS Blog Editor In hate crime, Hate Speech, Media By Luiz Va/trio P. Trlndodt, PhO The current ubiquitous presence of social media in people's lives on a global scale and the Increasing trend of dtvlslonlsm and polanzat1on fostered in this environment raises an Important reOect1on: How 'soclarhas this d.srupllve technology really become? The sociologist James M Henslin advocates that 'society makes us humans', and that this process Is achieved through social Interaction. or IMng In society and developing ones· self It Is also true that IMng In society Is not without conflicts, misundernandings, and d1ffKultles, and none of their ongins are due to the emergence of social media since they have been established only from the m1d-2000s onwards. Nevertheless, while this disruptive technology has expenenced an lmpresSIYI! exponenual growth rate In the number of monthly actJve users and revenue, there Is also evidence revealtng that social media has become a breeding ground for the d1ssem1natJon of a myriad of unsocial behaV10ur Concurrent With this growth. a surge In bigotry. racism, hate speech. xenophobia. cyberbullymg. and suicKle of young people has also been observed • where soda! media has not only conmbuted to their emergence but has also amplified and exacerbated them In alarming proporuons. This overall picture has been identified In many countnes, such as Brazi~ Chile, Italy. Myanmar. Portugal, Spain. the UK. and the us. Taking into conslderauon the worrying phenomenon of suicide amongst young people, data reveals that In most cases, dlsrurblng content circulating on social media has played a relevant role In such cases. In other words, distressing onllne content can potentially amplify young people's lived experiences of depression, emotional instability, low self·esteem, and even encourage them to engage In self.harm practices. Conversely to what some people may think, the onllne and offllne environments are not detached from each other but rather part of the same complex Intertwined reality. The Impact of attitudes or behaviour performed onllne Is not restricted to that environment but can rather affect people in the offilne context. Putting It In another way, words can wound and cause real harm in people's lives, and recent cases of suicide amongst young people 1nnuenced by disturbing social media content contribute to corroborate this argument In the case of second-generation Immigrants, a recent report released by the Europtan Union ...,tncy for Fundomtnral Righrs reveals that this social group tends to experience more hate- motovated harassment than first.generations do (32'!6 vs 21'!6). Moreover, according to the EurofmJn Comm1uion ogoinsc Rodsm ond lnco/rraoce, people exposed to discrlmlnauon and Intolerance have neither the capaoty nor the resources to enforce their rights. And within the social group of second-generation Immigrants, it is possible to nouce that women comprise a partKularly vulnerable sooal group And within this soda! group or secorKl-generation immigrants, It is possible to notice that women are particularly more vulnerable. In other words, the paradoxical scenario IS that even being bom and raised In me countries where xenophobic discourses are fostered both onhne llnd offllne, secorKl-generauon 1mm1grant women might be perceived as 'llleginmate' otizens. This distorted negative perception 1s oh:enumes fuelled by extreme nationalist pohncal discourses and amplified by several lntersectlonahty dimensions such as gender, race, dass, ethnlC origin, affiliation to non-hegemonic religions, hairstyle, and dress code. As these biased vtews are disseminated and shared on social media, they reach a wide audience of like-minded people and reverberate both online and offilne and, In some circumstances even leading towards violent hate crimes. In Germany, for example, a study conduaed in 2018 has discovered a strong correlacion between anti-refugee speech on social media and physical attacks. Within this context. leading political figures should be more cautious and aware of the Infl uential aspects of their public statements and their possible impacts and consequences on people's lives. Their leadership position adds a strong symbolic weight to t heir w ords and expressed beliefs, In such a way that In the case of hateful, bigotry, xenophobic or divisive discourses. they can potentlaliy validate, legltlmate. and endorse negative perceptions, attitudes, and behaviours towards ethnic minority groups. Supporting evidence is found, for example, In the surge of hate crimes against American Muslims, hate crimes against immigrants In the UK ah:er the EU referendum campaign, and extremist political discourses in Italy that have raised concerns regarding Increasing assaults on Immigrants. This is to say !hat when a prominent political figure uses social media to post messages conveying Ideas such as ·go back to where you came from' directed towards second-generation immigrants, thts can instil in the collecuve mindset the distorted belier that. 1n fact. that partic\Jlar social group does not belong there. In general terms, the dominant logic behind most of the maior social media platforms Is that users Increase their netw0rk of 'fnerl