1998 doesn’t seem like it was that long ago. But then I think about how old I was (16), what I was doing (attending high school), and the fact that I didn’t even have a computer at home at the time. Then, it really feels like a million years ago. Last night, I was randomly browsing the new TED app on AppleTV and was drawn to this particular talk because of the name “Monica Lewinsky”–which is where the reference to the year 1998 comes in.
I have to admit I never really thought about the woman herself and what she must have gone through when the events involving her and President Clinton unraveled. But, as she explains in her highly engaging talk, she was in fact one of the first victims of cyberbullying, a phenomenon that is sadly much more common today, in an era of constant connectedness and social media.
I often look at people’s comments on articles that get posted by pages I follow on Facebook, and almost on a daily basis, I am baffled at how rude people can be online. They don’t even have the excuse of hiding behind anonymity anymore, since most of the time people actually use their real names now, as opposed to several years ago, when your online identity was equal to your chosen username. It’s almost as though because they are writing something virtual to be seen mainly by people they don’t know–rather than talking to someone face to face–they feel like they don’t need to show compassion or use their judgment. Like their words don’t matter as much.
Long story short: I didn’t think I’d watch the entire 22 minutes of this video, but I did. And I hope you will, too. Lewinsky makes some important points, and delivers them very eloquently, I might add.