A drunk driver ,Master Yeh (葉少爺) killed three people and ruined two families in the early May. Suddenly, every news channel, newspaper, and website was full of the critique and discussion and webizens started to human flesh search (人肉搜索) this person, his friends and his family. Also, you could find a group of facebook users (more than 80 thousands likes) created a webpage to condemn him. With the prevalence of the Internet, similar scenarios have happened for countless times, such as celebrity scandals and injustice social events. A group of people spontaneously gathered on the Internet to judge a person, debate a topic, discuss rumors, condemn, or defend points of view, usually disappearing before long. We call them “Internet mob” or call this behavior " Internet vigilantism." I think this phenomenon is worthy to discuss.
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Discussion Question:
- Do you think Internet mob bring more positive effects or negative effects to the society?
- Did you condemn someone that you don’t even know in the real world on the Internet? What triggered you to do so? How was your feeling?
- I believe that you must familiar with this famous saying from a Bible story. “And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” <<John 8:7>> Some people believe being a Internet mob to condemn bad guys is a way to uphold justice; while others consider it is a lynching. The line between them is vague. What is your opinion on this issue?
- The anger can be amplified as ripple effect through the message transfer. Under anonymous circumstance, the irrational behaviors of Internet mobs erupt easily. Do you think the freedom of speech on the Internet should be regulated?
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