Let's think about the typical usage of either Facebook or Instagram. When logging in, you are bombarded by various photos and videos from your followers or friends. You engage with the content by either liking, commmenting or spreading it by sharing it to your timeline. Then the inevitable occurs, you spot a meme and it causes you to laugh so much you decide your to share it. What happenes when you select the "Share Button"? Does it simply share to your friends and it ends there? The effects can be astounding as it will reach all of your friends timeline, and if one of your friends share the content it creates an enormous domino effect. One of the most popular content to share today has become a meme, a self-replicating unit of information and as of now the most popular meme is of 13-year old, Danielle Peskoqitz Bregoli, but you may know her as the "Cash me outside,how bow dah?" girl from Dr.Phil. In September 15th,2016 Danielle appeared on Dr.Phil show as her mother attempted to get her int a straight path. Things took a turn when Danielle began referring to the audience members as, "a bunch of hos" and followed by, "Cash me outside, how bow dah" which quickly become into the hottest meme on the internet. Despite the purpose of Danielle being on Dr.Phil was to change her rebellious ways, she has been catapulted into internet fame as she appeared in Kodak Black music video, has 6.8 million followers on Instagram and her now famous meme. But being put into internet fame is not what is seems, Danielle has continued her ways and recently got into an Spirit aAirlines altercation and have been a target of threats and bullying. It seems as if the internet has only fueled her attitude and mentality as she has not changed. Yet not all stories are the same, take for example Ghyslian Raza or better known as the Star Wars kid. Raza is famous for recording himself wielding a lightsaber from Star Wars. His film unfortunately fell into the wrong hands and received over one billion views. Despite the video being funny, Raza was a target of bullying to the point he , "felt worthless, like my life wasnt worth living." Raza would later become deeply depressed and dropped out of high school. He would later redeem himself by becoming a lawyer. Out of all the meme stories I found, there was one that was the most heartbreaking. Hedi Yeh, a model from Taiwan says, " losing control of the image has ruined her career and her personal life". Yeh, posed for a photo for an advertising agency who promised to only use the image. However, the company allowed a plastic surgery provider to use the image with the title, "The only thing you'll ever have to worry about is how to explain it to the kids". Within the photo Yeh poses with a family of children who were digitally altered to have their eyes look small and their noses flat. The internet quickly created it into a meme with the caption "PLASTIC SURGERY, You can't hide it forver". Fake news began spreading of a fake story involving a man who became suspicious about his wife's looks after she gave birth to "ugly" children. He would then discover she had cosmetic surgery before thet met and decided to sue her. The news quickly spread and would lead to her family believing the story and her boyfriend breaking up with her. Yeh quotes, "The biggest loss for me is I don't want ot be a model anymore". It is very easy for me to overlook what I could possiblly be contributing to when I share a post. How could anyone forget, "The fall of edgar" on Youtube ? Facebooks main mission is to connect people around the world, yet when connecting everyone there is also a downfall. Life's could be ruined when sharing a post.
5 Comments
Adrienne Horca
3/1/2017 06:31:50 pm
Joseph,
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Stephen Negron
3/3/2017 11:27:05 pm
Man, those are all heartbreaking stories. I hardly ever post stuff on Facebook but I am now aware of the consequences when I do and I should be more aware of them. Posting can be as innocent as writing a blog about puppies, but even so it can spark some controversy. Be wary of the post.
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Miriam Flores
3/6/2017 12:09:46 am
Hello Joseph,
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Noemi Cuin
3/6/2017 11:52:49 am
After reading your post, it made me question if meme culture is a form of cyber bullying. Yeah they're funny but they come at the cost of othes' humilation??? We can never win. The Star Wars guy faced bullying but the Catch Me Outside girl thrived off it. I guess being a meme can either make or break you. If you become a meme, I hope it doesn't break you.
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Martin Almaraz
3/11/2017 07:40:49 pm
Hello Joseph,
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AuthorFirst generation computer scientist that loves football. Archives
May 2017
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