Social media has long been criticized as an unhealthy mode of communication, mainly due to the reason that it violates privacy and also because it has become a lucrative method of abuse, bullying and blackmailing. More often than not, women have been the victims of online harassment, and Facebook has been one of the main social media websites that creates such chaos in their lives.
Nonetheless, it is a well known fact that both, girls and women always try to avoid unwanted invitations and gratifications that they receive from unknown and known men via social media.
But, due to the advancement of technology, privacy and quietness is violated multiple times, as anybody’s profile is just a couple of clicks away from being revealed through tech devices.
India is a country where it has been alleged since times immemorial that sexism and objectification of women has long prevailed.
This has not changed much, despite the progressive laws and attitudes that have been visible within the country.
Facebook company has been receiving multiple complaints from Indian women on online harassment, online molestation, stalking and even blackmailing through facebook, and the company finally decided that “enough is enough”
The ‘Photo Guard’
The social media pioneer has taken steps to create tools to prevent unwanted friendship requests and messages from reaching women who possess an FB user account.
These features were introduced last year, and have been gaining attention of female FB users rapidly. The ‘Photo guard’ tool helps women to protect their profile picture, thus, aiding to protect their identity.
Once a profile guard has been activated, no one is able to copy, share or send that image to others via a Facebook message or as a post. Not only that, taking a screenshot of that particular image is also prevented once the Profile Guard tool has been activated. This tool was created because it was revealed that many female FB users do not upload their original photographs due to fear that the photographs will be downloaded and misused.
Women are now able to create their own design for their Facebook user accounts, enabling them to superimpose a design grid to the photos which they have uploaded. Creators of this tool state that by enabling this tool, the chances of a photograph being copied would be reduced by at least 75%.
Recurrent abusers
Another problem faced by many women is that once they block a certain person’s account, they tend to create another account under another identity and try to reach the women.
The new harassment filter feature proactively recognizes it and informs the female account holder if such actions are taken by blocked users. Also, the new tools help women to ignore unwanted messages by simply clicking on it once and moving it out of the inbox. And, for a conversation to be taking place, the person who blocked the other user should initiate messaging, and not the blocked person.
The users can also read messages in the conversation without the sender knowing that they have been read. This feature has been created due to the vast income of harassment reports of perpetrators approaching their victims offline after being blocked on Facebook.
It is hoped that both these features will be of ample importance to female FB users, especially, those who disappropriately face online bullying and abuse on a daily basis, such as, journalists and activists.
Even models and actresses are constantly harassed in social media for allegedly “wearing revealing clothes” and “provocating men” and also for “disrespecting the culture”. Now, it is possible to block and ignore such perpetrators in an instant through the new identification features.
The voice of youth
Facebook was not alone in creating these new harassment – proof features. It was the Youth ki Awaz (The voice of youth), a content – generated online platform representing the ideologies of the Indian youth that aided the social media pioneer to take up this challenge and create them. The group strives to democratize media by putting victimized people at the centre of it. Creating a positive impact on emerging issues of the youth has been the main task of this group. Anshul Tewari, founder and editor in chief of Youth Ki Awaaz said, “Gender-based violence and sexual harassment is a big problem in India due to an extremely patriarchal way of thinking.”
Receiving unsolicited online messages from unknown males, receiving friendship requests from unknown men, insults, harassment, fake profiles of women to take revenge etc, are some of the common forms of online molestation.
For a better future
Mankind has arrived at the brink of technological advancement so rapidly, that we have forgotten about the destructive repercussions of it.
Technology is a ‘necessary evil’, and it is up to users to be accountable for what they say and how they act in social media. But, it is not solely up to technology to be taking the blame, either.
Despite that incredible advancement in science and technology, the majority of our societies still cling on to archaic and sexist attitudes. It is that which we need to erase from our midst forever. Women should not be seen as objects or pieces of pleasure.
Women should be treated with dignity and respect, and unauthorized action that harass them mentally and physically should be suppressed by ourselves.
No matter how many laws are brought into light, no matter how many harassment filter features are invented, women and young girls will continue to be victimized online and in other manners, as long as society would attach itself to illogical and obsolete attitudes.