“Give a man a mask and he’ll show you his true face.” – While these words by the iconic character ‘The
Joker’, from the popular Batman flick, ‘The Dark Knight’ may have been in
reference to the people of Gotham; the quote fits rather perfectly well in the
context of the abuse of social media by a few, at times, hiding behind fake
profiles or identities.
Recent incidents such as that of Chief Minister Manohar
Parrikar’s illness and the more recent, actor Sridevi’s demise had the social
media speculating, and sometimes creating imaginary narratives in an
insensitive manner. Giving a peek into the twisted mindsets of some social
media users, a few posts done in extremely bad taste muddied the waters of this
uncensored forum that allows users to express freely. Back home in Goa, too, a
few Facebook groups like ‘Goa Speaks’, ‘Ami Niz Goenkar’, etc serve as virtual
battlegrounds where differing opinions and ideologies often spark heated
debates. And these debates, more often than not, take place in a manner which
may not be considered as civilised.
A few weeks ago, when the news of CM Manohar Parrikar being admitted
to the hospital was being circulated, peppered with rumours suggesting that
Parrikar could be suffering from Cancer, these FB groups were full of
ridiculous posts and comments made in bad taste. Newton Mendonca, a rather
regular on ‘Ami Niz Goenkar’, had posted, “Parrikar always wanted to reduce
retirement age. Why is he not retiring after being so sick?” A few of his other
posts included the likes of, “While we pray for CM’s health, let’s not forget
those who are suffering due to his skewed politics…”, and “Why should
governance suffer due to Parrikar’s illness? Would Parrikar allow it if anyone
else was ill? Shouldn’t there be a new CM?” A few of Mendonca’s posts attracted
extremely insensible comments such as the one from Francisco Fernandes who tried
to speculate Parrikar’s illness by saying, “Could be STD. Remember Pattaya?”
Another person, Thomas Cardoso said, “(Why) Y to pray. What good he has done to
panjim ppl can anybody explain.. things R lying down from several years and
nobody can change it giving false promises To ppl.” Fortunately, there were
some sane voices too who countered insensitive remarks with sensible ones, such
as one Agnelo Carvalho who said, “We are all sinners. But never curse the sick
or the dead. Because thats speaks of you in the first place. Your are fighting
somebody unable to defend himself/herself. thats not a courage of a warrior.”
There is a thin line between free speech and objectionable
behaviour and incidents in the past have shown that most social media users can’t
differentiate between the two. Add to it, the voyeuristic pleasures that some
people derive out of seeing someone in pain or distress is plain inhumane. Ask
any assault-survivor this, and he or she will concur. That most of us will
stand around, watching (and taking videos/photos). That most of us will do
nothing while the assault or something equally horrific is happening, like, for
instance, the numerous instances that take place around us – of stabbing,
sexual assault, accidents that demand quick action to prevent irreversible
damage.
In Sridevi’s case, even while the investigation was on, netizens
would not stop digging into her personal life in distasteful detail. As medical
reports came in, the narrative, which was built around the imposed beauty standards
of the industry, proved to be slander and a sheer wastage of time. Social media
was flooded with a detailed dissection of the deceased actor’s lifestyle and
aspirations to be youthful.
It
may be important to note that social media was the platform of choice for those
who stressed on freedom of speech and demanded repeal of Section 66A of the IT
Act, until the Act was struck down by the Supreme Court last year. However,
social media users as well as the social media companies themselves fail to show
enough accountability to this freedom.
