Bullying normalized on social media

Katya Tarabrina, Blue M Editor-and-Chief

With the rise of social media usage over the past decade, bullying has reached a new level. 

Previously, bullying was something that only the most insecure, shameless people could do. It takes a lot of courage to walk up to someone’s face and say something nasty. 

However, social media has made that significantly easier, as now cowards, who were previously hiding in the pits of their own self-hate, can also join in on the fun of utterly destroying someone’s confidence.

This is because you don’t have to actually confront someone and see their face, in which to bully them. It takes nothing to say it over a computer screen and, as the bully, you don’t actually have to express any emotion. 

One of the many social media platforms where bullying occurs is TikTok. There are already multiple reasons I dislike TikTok, but the fact that it is one of the most normalized cyberbullying platforms on the market right now makes my anger towards it even worse.

If you ever dare to post your face on TikTok, and you don’t look good to the angsty 13-year-olds, they will shamelessly bully you to the ground in your comments section. Most of the time, someone will make a video about anything at all, and their comment section is filled with people talking about nothing else besides their appearance. What’s wrong with their appearance? Is it an oddly placed birthmark? An out-of-the-norm sized nose? An unusual makeup look? Doesn’t matter.

It’s ludicrous how you don’t even have to say anything for someone to bully you. If people find something wrong with just showing your face, they will never let you do or say anything else. 

I haven’t seen the moderators, which I doubt they have, on the platform try to do anything to stop or discourage this behavior, though I’m sure if they did, they would be met with nothing else besides laughter and mockery. 

For young teens, being bullied can have a huge impact on their mental health. It’s awful to be hated on just for simply existing, it’s one of the worst feelings ever. Nobody that young should have to experience the feeling. It’s scary thinking about how these children are exposed to these kinds of remarks so early, who knows how they will turn out in the future. I mean I was bullied and I ended up having a twisted sense of humor and a mess of hair on my head from dyeing it so much. 

I’m sure that many of them have seen the reactions of others when someone does something that displeases the crowd, so they know better than to repeat their mistakes. 

Social media should be a place where people are welcomed and can feel comfortable being themselves, especially about things they cannot change such as appearance, not ashamed. 

Young children should not be allowed on social media under any circumstance. 

However, it is almost impossible to stop them. It is our job to make it a safe place for them and for ourselves as well, no matter what it takes. It’s the little things that can brighten someone’s day, such as leaving a nice comment or a like on a stranger’s post. 

In the age of social media, people can feel left out — even through a screen — so it’s important to make everyone feel like they belong.