Loss of the Public Order
Nowadays, on the Internet, the temperature is rising for many social problems caused by the loss of public order. One can easily witness many absurd incidents. This phenomenon typically occurs on the subway. While these things are occurred repeatedly, even new coinage is also formed.
About one month ago, on YouTube, a video of a fight between a woman and man was posted. According to the video, a man accidentally steps in the woman’s foot while she was seated. He apologized for his mistake, but she shouted abuses to him. Finally, they had a scuffle. Passengers around them tried to restrain her but she attacked the man and hit him. This video spread quickly and many people were shocked by this.
Of course, we often witness similar scenes elsewhere. Take one example, a young woman hurled abuses to an old taxi driver who didn’t know how to find a destination. Also another young woman hit an old woman for a trivial reason. She hit her simply because she touched her child. She was harshly criticized by this rude behavior.
Is it Fair Criticism or “Witch hunts”?
Recently, you can easily find examples of discourging public morality. It is definitely a wrong and bad thing. So, it is natural they be criticized. However, the problem is that as SNS(Social Network Service) develops, netizen’s indiscreet criticism becomes a serious problem. Many pictures and video clips, taken on the sly, are leaked online. As a result, a unilateral and baseless opinion is spread. Netizens who don’t know the whole context of the incidents wrongfully accuse a specific party.
Irresponsible exposure and slander produce “the victims of false accusation.” and distress average citizens as well as celebrities, making them preys of “witch hunt.” Especially, “The assault ion Chae Sun Dang’s pregnant woman” and “doenjang soup women (a neologism that call a woman who spells doenjang soup on a boy’s face)” incident that recently highlighted was triggered by the Internet community and SNS. In the process of clipping a story that was posted by the general public, the rumor has seriously snowballed.
The mass media plays a crucial role in forming public opinion. So, for the sake of creating a healthy media environment, we have to stop the indiscreet “witch hun."
Let’s take some examples. Last month, in Cheon-An, there was “The assault on Chae Sun Dang’s pregnant woman.” A pregnant woman claimed that she had been assaulted by a restaurant employee. So, the incident spread widely and Chae Sun Dang was heavily criticized. The employee had to suffer bitter insults and the entire chain underwent severe falling sales. However, the incidents turned out to be a false through police investigation. The dispute and physical fight were true, but it was very different from victim’s one-sided description. The allegation the employee kicked her stomach was false.
Also, in Seoul, the strange rumor that a woman spilled hot soup on a boy’s face and disappeared circulated on the internet. She received severe criticism from netizens. She was called “duenjang soup woman.” Many who saw the boy’s picture were angered and started to search for a suspect. The 50 year-old woman who was fingered as the perpetrator suffered from a terrible personal attack. After two days, she voluntarily turned up at the police station. They checked CCTV and found another fact. On this video, she collided with the boy and asked the kitchen for assistance. Suddenly, people re-directed criticism toward the parents who neglected their child’s behavior. Even now, there are many similar issues and netizens keep hurling abuses on unspecified people without regard for the facts.
The Sociology of the Witch Hunt
Many analysts say that behind the netizen’s behavior of making accusations without verifying fact is ‘selective perception’ at work. ‘Selective Perception’ means people believe what they want to believe. If someone obtains new information, they unconsciously judge from their opinion to avoid conflicts with valued stereotypes.
The harmful effect of blind witch hunts continues to grow through SNS technology. Unilateral opinions are spread indiscriminately and reproduced expansively through SNS.
Kim Yeon-sik, professor of Donga University said, “Through the Internet and SNS, every citizen can deliver his opinion. He has the capacity to use the media, there is a positive effect that can reinforce democracy. But, there are the side effects, too. Anonymous users can make emotional and provocative claims rather than rational analysis.”
What should be done?
For a long time, we were taught to observe the public order, especially in the public space. But, now, many absurd things continuously happen around us. It seems we don’t care about other people. Our selfishness makes our society flawed. It’s time to foster a sense of public morality. For this we should be more considerate to other people. Look at yourself first, before criticizing someone.
The formation of public opinion via the Internet is a good thing, but a witch hunt and indiscriminate criticisms toward a citizen should be abolished. We need to be more ethical on the Internet. Free speech and healthy criticism should be allowed. But, at the same time, we need to be more cautious and considerate before hurling abuses.
By Shin Ji-hye CP Reporter
oaxpr4974@cnu.ac.kr