Social-Media Shaming: Why Were We So Quick to Judge Posts About the Paris Attacks?

Did you turn your Facebook picture blue, white, and red? (Photo: Yahoo Health/iStock)

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks last week, your Facebook newsfeed probably turned a lot more blue-white-red. Your friends probably posted status updates or re-grammed images and illustrations of Paris (like the Peace for Paris image by artist Jean Jullien) to make known their love for the city and shock at the horrifying events that happened there.

But this public outpouring of support for Paris didn’t sit well with everyone. Almost as soon as blue-white-red profile pictures started appearing, so did the posts on why you shouldn’t France-ify your picture. Some seem to see the action as mindlessly trendy, being ignorant of terrorist attacks in other, non-Western cities and countries (see: bombing in Beirut the day before the Paris attacks, or the attack in Kenya in April), and being useless in creating any sort of change.

“I offer my support to France and encourage American leaders to do everything possible to assist our friends. But I am not going to tricolor my face,” writes James Mulvaney in a column for CNN. “The truth is that this perhaps well-intentioned show of solidarity cheapens the suffering of Parisians and trivializes the war on terror. ISIS is not a boogie man in a video game, it is a true threat to all who believe in self-evident freedoms, including the right to worship (or not) as we wish.”

No one is saying that the Paris attacks aren’t worthy of discussion or horrific in nature, but the criticism is that we’re not treating every act of violence and terror equally. Writer Lulu Nunn calls it “white corporate supremacy” in her op/ed in The Independent: “If you’re a British person who wants to do that because you feel sympathy and sadness for people who are brutally massacred, regardless of their nationality, then fine. I just hope that you also change your profile picture to a different country’s flag every time people are wrongly killed as the result of international conflicts…”

It almost seems like the reaction to the Paris reaction is stronger than the Paris reaction itself. But why? What is behind our need to judge others’ thoughts, feelings , and personal actions, perhaps with the intention of “correcting” them?

First, we must understand why we had such a strong social media reaction to Paris in the first place.

‘Paris, I Think, Is a Particularly Sensitive Spot for People Worldwide’

Before social media existed, we shared our thoughts in feelings IRL with our friends and family. But these days, “we do so much of our social interaction via social media,” Art Markman, PhD, a professor of psychology at the University of Texas, Austin, tells Yahoo Health. “It is not surprising that we reach out to others in times of tragedy – social media is an easy way to do that and to share the feelings of shock and grief with others in an immediate way.”

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While attacks in Beirut were certainly tragic (and were covered in the media, despite what some Internet chatter may claim), Paris garnered more attention in America because there was less psycho-social distance. As Markman explains, Paris is the top destination for tourists globally, with more than 32 million visitors in 2014. And even if you haven’t traveled there, you may feel like you have through depictions in film and TV. “So, the attack felt personal and people were touched by it,” he says. “Psychologically, it makes sense.”

The attacks in Paris also had several elements that made them particularly noteworthy, according to media and violence expert Chris Ferguson, PhD, an associate professor and the chair of psychology at Stetson University: “The attacks themselves were very well-coordinated and effective, and that’s going to get them attention,” he tells Yahoo Health. “The attacks also occurred in an area that doesn’t already have the reputation for social strife. Beirut, and Kenya to a lesser extent, have had prior problem with terrorism and social unrest. It may not be fair, but we’re probably more likely to take notice of events occurring where they’re not really expected.”

And it’s not just violence that stands out to us either, Ferguson continues. “The Malaysian Airlines [flight] that went missing got tons of attention because it was just such a startling event,” he says. We were drawn in by the mystery, and the fear that something similar could happen to us.

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In the end, though, the world’s emotional attachment to Paris is probably the biggest reason we saw such an online outpouring. “I don’t recall loads of people changing their profile pics to the United States flag when the Boston Marathon got bombed,” he says. “We didn’t all change our profile pictures when a Russian jet got blown up either. Paris, I think, is a particularly sensitive spot for people worldwide, and we’re seeing that in the reaction.”

Politically, says Markman, this can appear that Western citizens are only sensitive to the events that impact them – though he argues this isn’t so much “only,” just “more.” And not just the West, but most of the globe. In some senses, Paris belongs to much of the world.

Why We Shame Others via Social Media

Online “shaming” is hardly new. “Shaming is a way of trying to get someone’s attention for a position they have taken,” Markman says. “Usually, it is a way of trying to point out some kind of hypocrisy in their behavior as a way of making a point.” One big reason it’s taken on such a life of its own: We’re denied consequences for our criticisms, says Markman. “The distance … makes it easy to say things to people that we would never say in person,” he explains. “Most of us would never shame someone in real life, but because we cannot see their faces and their reactions [online], it is easier to do.”

And with all the opinions on the internet — or outside it, which we can then rehash online — we’ve entered a period where “people are quick to attack others for not being 100-percent politically correct, or [for not] sharing the same perspective,” Ferguson says. “Minor but well-intentioned offenses are commonly being met rather harshly.”

Related: The New Rules Of Social-Media Etiquette (And How To Passive-Aggressively Break Them)

Causing others to feel guilt about their thoughts and reactions won’t likely provoke meaningful change, or create a larger movement to prevent violence on a global level. “It tends to make people defensive and angry rather than thoughtful,” Markman points out.

On a larger level, however, we need to consider the culture of Internet shaming. Be mindful of what you post online and how it might impact others, says Ferguson. No one wants to offend or be offended. But it also goes a step farther.

“People need to be careful what they say on one hand, but also be charitable to others who may not always be 100 percent on-message [or agree with their opinion],” says Ferguson. “It’s better to have discussions with people where views are exchanged, rather than informing others that they are horrible human beings because they did things different from how you might have.”

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