An unprovoked and horrific stabbing attack that killed a woman on a train. The last breath of a 13-year-old boy shot by a police officer who chased him down. A report on a powerful psychedelic drug that covers its lauded effects, but not the risks of serious psychiatric harm.
These are just a few of the social media videos that stopped my scrolling in its tracks and compelled me to reach for the "report" button. All were rejected and deemed to be within the platform’s community guidelines.
I am not a Luddite, nor am I overly uptight about social media content. I am among the strongest advocates for the power of those platforms. I made it my job to increase news consumption using them, steered by my belief in their ability to create cultural connections, promote diversity, give a voice to the unheard and foster shared understanding between generations.
Social media has revolutionised storytelling, creativity and how we share the depth of humanity. But the beautiful parts of the internet are often unfairly muted by the louder, brasher, dangerous side that can expose society’s most vulnerable and developing minds to the very worst of us all.
Social media has revolutionised storytelling, but has also exposed the most vulnerable in society to the worst of us all. Getty Images
Children are growing up as witnesses to war crimes, to depravity, subjected to serious and relentless bullying.
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