Click With Compassion

By Aiden Baker on March 29, 2015

As one of the first victims of large-scale online harassment, Monica Lewinsky survived a mega-storm of slut-shaming and persecution. Back in 1998, there wasn’t a term for what we now call cyber-bullying, and the young White House intern was one of the first cases of online aggression.

Everyone makes mistakes, but this one happened to explode all over the internet, making the 22-year-old, Lewis & Clark student into a pariah, bimbo and slut. Today her legacy lives on in rap lyrics—in 43 rap songs, to be exact.

He Monica Lewinsky’d all on my gown. http://d3ak921qm2mtuo.cloudfront.net

Monica Lewinsky has recently reclaimed her voice, giving a Ted Talk titled “The Price of Shame.” She bravely uses the fame brought to her by the 1998 scandal, the notoriety gained through cyber-shaming, to speak out against online harassment.

From Monica Lewinsky’s Ted Talk, “The Price of Shame”

The internet can be a brutal place, as many are now aware. In her talk, Lewinsky mentions the story of Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old, Rutgers student who jumped to his death after a surge of cyber-bullying. Unfortunately, with the growth of the internet, tragedies like this are becoming more and more common.

Technology today has a dark side that can do more damage than one might think. While bullying in pre-online eras was contained within the school, office or community, now the internet provides a platform to upload, share and access almost anything at any time.

Too often, private material is taken and consumed via online sites. Monica Lewinsky, whose personal phone calls were made public, whose private life was made readily available on any computer screen, fell a victim to this new internet economy: an economy that profits from the shame and humiliation of other human beings.

Living behind computer screens makes it easy to forget that public figures are people, too. The internet creates a separation between the content and consumer, allowing a space for synthetic human interaction. This distance makes it easy to dehumanize public figures, and the safety of screens makes some people feel invincible. Some feel that their speaking through keyboards gives them the right to say any disgusting, cruel words that come to mind.

It’s easy to hide behind the safety of screens. http://www.theworkzine.com

In her talk, Lewinsky mentions celebrity photo leaks, like the recent incident with Jennifer Lawrence. Private and personal nude photographs of the young actress were stolen and released on the internet, allowing her to be consumed and criticized by an unknown number of people.

Unfortunately, this extreme violation of privacy is not uncommon. Spikes in leaked photos and revenge porn has created a need for legislation across the country to create preventative laws for this new kind of sexual harassment.

Having survived an incredible amount of harassment, hate and humiliation, Monica Lewinsky is turning her experience into a chance to make real change in cyberspace. The repercussions of online harassment are very real and at times, very deadly.

In addition to the story of Tyler Clementi, her Ted Talk briefly delves into her own struggle with depression, a darkness caused by shame amplified to extreme degrees through cyberspace. As a victim of online harassment myself, I can attest to the very real consequences caused by cyber-attacks. Consuming personal and private content, commenting mindless slurs and criticizing from behind computer screens can all seem innocent from a distance. But when you’re the one under the microscope, it can feel like the world is against you.

“I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously.” https://www.ted.com

It only takes one look at the YouTube comment section to see that we are becoming a less kind, compassionate generation. Lewinsky wants to change that, addressing the deep need for sympathetic consumption. It’s so important to remember that people in the news and online are just that: people. They are real human beings with real flaws, strengths, mistakes and ambitions.

It is necessary that we start consuming with compassion. As Lewinsky says, “Public humiliation as a blood sport has to stop. We need to return to a long-held value of compassion and empathy.”

Don’t let the internet steal your humanity. As you surf through cyberspace, be sure to click with compassion.

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