In well known recent stories we see public figures have their personal issues sprayed over the media. We’ve seen it from Rosie vs. Trump, to Alex Baldwin vs. Kim Basinger (and unfortunately his daughter too). While some might argue this is what happens when you become famous, what are we to make of the Duke Lacrosse case? Before any of the details could be confirmed, the internet gossip condemned them before they could get a fair trial. The internet has made it possible to say nearly anything about anyone anonymously and get away with it.
Just about anything you thought was private could be on the internet, including your medical history and social security number. Thanks to the many blogs and the online versions of media companies, information can get around faster then ever.
Donald and Rosie could have handled things behind closed doors, but instead took it to the media to relay insults. This only encourages other people to take things to the public before handling it privately. And from what we saw in the aftermath of that online squabble, no one really wins.
People take personal issues online to get a consensus in their favor, and at the same time try to publically shame the other person. We’ve seen this happen countless time where a couple breaks up and risqué pictures of them together show up on tracker sites. In the business world this happens too when employees are notified they were fired when they see it first on the 7 o’clock news. What ever happened to the saying “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”?
The current version of that saying should be “what’s taken online stays online”. Some issues just need to be solved through mediation or the courts. Online disputes just go on and on forever, unless it affects society in general, let’s all keep our disputes offline.
