Social Media Expert Kris Ruby on Fox & Friends: Internet Outrage

Social Media expert and Ruby Media CEO, Kris Ruby was recently on Fox & Friends discussing the top social media story of the week: Internet Outrage. This trend seems to be sweeping the nation (and the net!). What leads people to engage in Internet Outrage?

People are going on the Internet to express their rage because it easier then expressing it in real life and they can hide behind a veil of anonymity. It is creating a toxic stream for people to follow and it often leads to friends/family/coworkers un-following you.

Social Media is still new and people are still figuring out how to use it. In a way, there are two things going on here when rage is at play. One is the violation of social media etiquette (ie. how could someone post something I vehemently disagree with?) and the other is the actual subject matter at hand.

My advice: if you wouldn’t bring it up at a dinner party or in front of a client, don’t post it on social media. I can’t imagine showing employees a photo of killing an animal (let alone boasting about it) so why would someone put that online? If you do in fact have weird hobbies that are likely to cause controversy, keep them to yourself- no need to publish them unless you are looking for a backlash.

People also need to think before they post (not only the people posting the controversial content, but the people posting responses to the content).

What is often more disturbing then the original content posted is people’s reaction to it.

Social Media Anger Management could go a long way!

What is Not OK to post in a moment of social media rage 

  • Death threat tweets
  • Saying you want to pay 100k for nude photos of a 19 year old girl to prove what “scum” she is is even scummier then the original post.
  • Posting ill will towards children
  • Saying you want to stone someone to death

Social Media leads to a “mob mentality”

The veil of anonymity in the web allows for abuse and cyber bullying. However,  subsequent anger should NOT descend into bullying and a mob mentality. At what point should social media networks step in and remove hateful content? Whose responsibility is this really? Would love to hear your thoughts!

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