It seems like a new social media platform is born everyday. There are always new opportunities and ways to connect, network and share ideas.
That is the intention of these platforms, right?
I mean who would create an entire digital world for the expressed purpose of tracking and monitoring the thoughts, dreams, desires and interests of a people?
My first social media account was Facebook (My second was Black Planet don't judge me). I joined when Facebook was supposedly only for college students to connect, plan, and share.
That quickly changed and for the better.
Over the years I have watched social media being born and die. I saw the slow and painful death of Myspace and Black Planet. Most recently, I have witnessed the swift beheading of Twitter.
At least Lord Dorsey was amply compensated.
But the changes I see the most is how the platforms are used.
Yes, we are supposed to connect to one another using the internet. That is the whole point, but when can one say things have gone too far?
My platform of choice at the moment (which is really for entertainment) is YouTube.
I watch at least 6 hours of YouTube a day. I was there when the platform had no commercials, advertisements or copyright issues.
I'm noticing that the gossip/news media channels are getting a little personal.
Not only do they cover celebrities and world events but everyday people who happen to make the mistake of being ridiculous on the internet.
There is one in particular (among so many) that I find quite disturbing.
She was a patient on My 600lb Life. She gave the doctor a hard time, gained weight, didn't get her surgery and ghosted the show.
What followed was one of the most interesting reality tube series that has ever graced YouTube.
It involved several channels including the subject. There are 5 years worth of vlogs and footage of this saga.
The story continues but in the last 2-3 years things have started to take a disturbing turn.
I believe it got ugly when the first doxing occurred. And then the CPS calls. A truck was stolen and trashed. Keys came up missing.
Pictures started to be posted of the subject out and about doing everyday things.
Some of this can be excused as the subject "opening the door" by documenting her life on YouTube.
But then...
I was checking one of the satellite channels for the aforementioned subject. I looked at the "community tab" which does not have videos but can have pictures, links and written updates on topics.
The owner of the channel had posted an announcement asking members of his channel to "take pictures of (redacted) out and about and send them to me."
It's one thing to accept pictures of a topic from independent "contractors." Its a whole other beast to request these pictures and encourage others to take them.
That is crossing the line into harassment and stalking.
For the past 10 years anyone who mentions the term "Gang Stalking" has been labeled as crazy. The overlapping stories have been dismissed as "mass hysteria" and "shared internet delusions."
That day I saw an example of how one person can and will easily instruct others to invade what privacy the average American has left.
I will add a link to a video that illuminates this in a different situation.
Anyway, my point is that social media is lubricant for these types of activities.
The anonymity of the medium makes the behavior even worse. Victims are left pretty much helpless to pin point and gather information on their perpetrators, making it even easier to label them as "crazy."
I wish I would have screen shot what I saw.
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