UNAIR NEWS – Cancel Culture is a form of society boycotting individuals who act offensive and unpleasant in the virtual world. The presence of a cancel culture caused many users to feel isolated and perhaps cause a more significant impact in their lives.
Not always fair, a Communication expert from Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Nisa Kurnia Illahiati SIKOM, MMedKom mentioned that boycott can happen caused by the spread of things not indeed true on social media and ended up harmed the party boycotted. “So while canceling, we are violating someone’s right to “live” and talk,” she uttered.
Nisa gave wise tips for using social media as a technology to avoid a wrongly-targeted cancel culture. The first is to understand that mindset is the thing that moves technology.
“Before we want to do something, we have to fix the mindset, and understand that the logic process works, because technology is just an instrument,” she explained.
Furthermore, Nisa mentioned the importance of user understanding for each media to be used. “Medium is the message. The thing we must remember is that each media has different characteristics and effects, such as online headlines and leads that are made interesting, to attract the attention of netizens to click the news,” she gave an example.
By knowing the characteristics and effects caused, social media users are expected to become more aware and avoid media traps.
Finally, the lecturer of communication of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) UNAIR suggested netizens analyze how the narrative was created. “Often people dare to judge people as a whole, just from stories that are only a dozen seconds. But how a dozen seconds can represent all the things that happen,” she elaborated.
On one hand, the role of netizens as judges in the context of cancel culture can make them blind to the reality that can be sought. While on the other hand, freedom of speech is a human right owned by all human beings, both for netizens as judges and perpetrators. “It is wrong to restrict perpetrators in giving the right to answer,” she said.
Nisa advised before carrying out punishment or judgment. It is suitable for netizens to confirm the truth. “Because cancel culture ends up only being a vigilante if netizens only do what is good in their eyes, without seeing other perspectives, and without confirming the truth,” she expressed. (*)
Author: Stefanny Elly
Editor : Khefti Al Mawalia
