2017-06-06
28 分钟Welcome to LSEIQ, a podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
This is the podcast where we ask leading social scientists and other experts to answer an intelligent question about economics,
politics or society.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms are irresistible to many of us,
but there is growing concern that tech companies are putting profit before the well-being of users.
The lack of controls over abusive and extremist content and the manipulation of opinion during the US election have all been in the news recently.
In this episode, Joe Baill asks, is social media good for society?
Felix Alexander was a promising 17-year-old sixth form student when, last year,
he threw himself under a train near his hometown of Worcester after years of online bullying.
It began when Felix was just 10 and classmates at his fee-paying school teased him
because he was not allowed to play the video game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2,
which has an 18 certificate.
It spiralled from there and, with the advent of social media, moved online.
His mother, Lucy Alexander, tried to get him to stop using social media as it was causing him so much distress,
but that just isolated him further.
He also moved schools, but the online bullying continued with tragic consequences.
In an open letter published in the local newspaper After His Death,
Mrs Alexander appealed for more kindness on social media.
Here's an excerpt from the letter in which she describes how worthless her son was made to feel.
His confidence and self-esteem had been eroded over a long period of time by the bullying behaviour he experienced in secondary education.