The word “mean” holds many meanings. In the math world, a “mean” is a “is a numeric quantity representing the center of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of a set of numbers”. Another definition “intend to convey, indicate, or refer to (a particular thing or notion); signify.” or “they are being unkind to another person, for example by not allowing them to do something”. There are many different definitions to a word, and many people intercept different meanings and feelings for words,  like the word “mean”.  In society today, people are haters and some people will go out of their way to be mean to you. They will yell at you, complain at you, write hateful comments on social media. The point is that many people have different definitions for different words. What you think is correct or right might not reflect on the other person. Many people in this world have different versions of the word “mean”.  That’s not to say that what they’re doing isn’t hurtful, but the word might have a different meaning to them. 

To one person for example, voicing opinions could be considered hate. They might think it’s mean because you’re not agreeing with what that person has to say. Many people consider conversations or arguments mean or hateful all because the people in the conversation dont have the same viewpoint. That also applies to in person and on social media sites like Instagram. If you’re in a reply thread with people who think differently than you, you could think that the person is being mean, but they just have a different stance on that subject and it’s okay. 

Unfortunately, we all have different viewpoints on what we consider hate. “A social approval-based theory of online hate suggests that the motivations and gratifications of those who post hate messages are not primarily to antagonize their ostensible victims’ ‘. It all goes back to viewpoints. The “haters” might be posting something that wasn’t necessarily rude, it was just misinterpreted. Obviously, there are people on the internet and the real world that are just straight up rude, but then there is a group of people who are painted as a “hater” but they are just voicing how they feel. 

The impact of being mean to someone  can be intense. It can lead to feelings of sadness, or anger. It can lead to a low self-confidence, and behavioral responses. The people that are hateful just get to hide behind a screen for example, being mean and negative, but don’t have to deal with the negative effects. That’s the issue with social media. Some random person can sit in the room behind a screen and tear another person down, but does not receive any negative reprcussions. 

Even though there are many positive effects of social media, there are negative effects as well and this negative effect seems to be a very popular issue around the world. That is why I think that hate should be banned from social media. Freedom of speech is a topic in the social media field. Some people say things that they shouldn’t on social media, but then defend themselves by saying “but I can say that I have freedom of speech”. No you can’t, because of the laws. Social media laws and guidelines are different from each other. These platforms have their own conditions and terms/ guidlines. The “freedom of speech” card can’t be used because of these laws and they can and will ban you. But the issue is, the people keep making different accounts and will most definitely find a way to come back and hate on you and tear you down. Because of these laws, people can’t get into trouble that’s legal oriented, but they can still lose their jobs if their employer sees this hate,  or lose  “brand deals’ ‘ if they’re an influencer. 

If we find a way to ban hateful users permanently, if the evidence is credible and sufficient, we might finally be able to positively use social media again. Everybody, no matter who, should be able to go on social media and post what makes them happy. The hateful people that tear others down negatively affect so many people and it makes people feel like they can’t share what they want. 

In conclusion, people tend to have different viewpoints on what being considered “mean” is. We need to be able to live a life or show our lives on SM, without getting hated on. It would make the world a better place, and the positive effects would really show. It would boost people’s confidence, improve their mental health, and also improve acceptance. 

References

Miller, J. (2020, April 21). Can Hate Be Banned From Social Media? New Jersey State Bar Foundation. https://njsbf.org/2020/04/21/can-hate-be-banned-from-social-media/

Walther, J. B. (2022). Social Media and Online Hate. Current Opinion in Psychology, 45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.12.010

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