War On The Net

by Patrick Liew on January 28, 2015

My very good and learned friend, Bartholomew Wong told me that there is a war out there. It involves more lives than any other war and no one is spared from it, including you.

The battle is fought in a war zone that you may have unwittingly invited into your home and and it’s only one click away.

Yes, I’m talking about the Wild Wild Web. A place where the long arm of the law can be shortened and forces of law and order, and peace and security cannot adequately cover.

As I journal my reflection about it, I’m thinking about the recent “Mindef IP” case and how some of my most educated, intelligent, and upright friends had unintentionally help to perpetuate a lie. The words of a taxi driver also came to mind, “I don’t read the newspaper anymore. I get to know what’s going on from the Net.”

There is a scary war that is raging in cyberspace and much is at stake. It’s not just about human psyche but also the future of families, communities, and the world at large.

There are “strange” netizens out there promoting base instincts and the worst of hatred, anger, and all kinds of negativity. They are prepared to use lies, half truths, and misinformation or perpetuate them to consciously or unconsciously bring humanity down and achieve the worst of outcomes.

Their motives, means, and ends are not meant to be positive. If anything, they are designed to produce cascades of negative effects.

If you get involved with them online and you do not fall in line, they can be psychologically violent, vicious and vindictive. Their reaction range from rudeness to posting some of the most toxic words about you and yours publicly.

These words are crafted to abuse you, insult you, tear you apart, or in some cases, destroy you.

Some of them believe that they are like James Bond and carry a “O0 7” code. In other words, they think they have a licence to kill (emotional murder included) and will not hesitate to exercise it.

The problem is, you may not know who they are and where they are lurking behind the listing, link, and “Like” on cyberspace.

In case you’re not aware, cyber bullying has caused undue stress to many, some of whom have committed suicide. There are many untold miseries that will probably take more than the storage space on your digital device to recount.

The Internet war can break out and continue on almost any site.

For example, I have participated in religious discussions with people who claimed to be God-fearing and righteous. Guess what? They can be equally vitriolic and vengeful, and detrimental and destructive.

Enter cyberspace at your own risk but be prepared to ring fence  yourself. Safeguard your sanity and sense making abilities.

Find out who are the people behind the online site, their objective and modus operandi. Check their track record and past comments before participating in it.

Most people who share their views online have not conducted any meaningful research and given deep enough thoughts about them. Therefore, don’t believe everything you read and more importantly, protect yourself from any negative repercussion.

Ensure that you’ll get positive outcomes from your foray on the Net, not just for yourself but also for others.

The best way to avoid having trouble with trouble makers is to stay  away from them. Don’t believe for a moment that you are strong enough to handle them, individually or collectively.

Log out from them and stay out. Period.

In addition, go to  privacy setting features of the social media sites and block war mongers and  bullies from your site. You can also seek counsel and and comfort from people who are specialists in this area.

If the situation becomes life-threatening, do a photo grab of the comments or save them on your hard disks and other devices.  They can be used as evidence when you lodge a report at the police station.

May the good people on cyberspace rise up and turn the tide. Let good triumph over evil in this post modern warfare.

Netizens and netizens-to-be, welcome to the 21st Century war zone.

Beware!

Go4It!

I hope this message will find a place in your heart.

By the way, I have also recorded other reflections.

Please ‘Like’ me on https://m.facebook.com/patrickliewsg

Visit my Inspiration blog at http://liewinspiration.wordpress.com/

For my opinions on social affairs, please visit my Transformation blog at http://hsrpatrickliew.wordpress.com/

Please visit my website, http://www.patrickliew.net

Please read my reflection and continue to teach me.

Life is FUNtastic!

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