In an effort to better help users connect and communicate with one another, many social media platforms promote commenting sections and features that allow people to respond to posts. For example, according to Twitter’s help center, the website’s facets enable and encourage social media users to “join conversations on Twitter by replying to others and by mentioning them in your own Tweets.” Thus, when creating various social media platforms it is clear that the features which allow for dialogue between those who are using the site were in fact developed with good intentions. Undeniably, many sites hoped comment sections would provoke positive discussions and provide an outlet where people could express their feelings about various subjects. However, while many do in fact use this given platform to compliment others, display their appreciation for a post, or even provide helpful information in a respectful way, social media also provides a platform for negativity and verbal abuse.
One extremely clear example of such abuse of response features on social media sites is cyberbullying, the act of bullying one through electronic communication. This form of online harassment is becoming more and more apparent on social media sites across the board. 
In fact, according to a survey conducted in 2012 by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, an estimated 14.5% of high schoolers experienced some form of cyberbullying in the prior year. Thus, electronic bullying is a definite effect of social media and will likely continue to be a major issue as long as social media platforms continue to grow.
However, this statistic causes one to wonder what it is about the world of social media that allows for such harmful language and acts of bullying. To answer this question, I would like to point to a piece by Thomas White from the Huffington Post, “Why Social Media Isn’t Social”, which refers to online platforms as “the social media shield.” According to this idea, one’s phone screen is essentially a safeguard which separates users online and allows cyberbullies to hide and avoid any direct repercussions of their actions. For instance, due to the fact that one’s profile is simply a name and picture, which may or may not even match the user’s true identity, it is much easier for one to write hateful, racist, misogynistic, etc. comments since it is possible to, in a way, remove oneself from the physical world and instead live in the online world where one can be and say whatever they please without the public knowing who is behind the screen. As a result, many people use social media networks as a means of spewing hatred through comments and dialogue whilst they hide behind the mask of a screen. Such comments can be seen under YouTube videos, Instagram photos, and much more.
Nevertheless, despite the negativity being spread on all social media platforms, it is essentially just another empirical tactic used by social media platforms as a means of gaining popularity and, as a result, power. 
For instance, as mentioned in my previous blog, every social media platform is competing with one another to be the superior site and take on the role as the leader of the social media empire. However, in order to reach the top, a site must increase its popularity and gain more users. To do so, many platforms rely on the amount of activity by users to indicate how well-liked their site is. Unfortunately, this mindset of having more action than a rival platform results in many major social media sites being blind to the fundamental issues and malicious content being posted online. Thus, to an empirical social media site, any activity helps boost their relevance, regardless of its contents.
Sadly, this kind of blindness to misconduct is not uncommon in empires throughout history since expansion and increase of power can consume one’s mind, making it so that nothing else matters. Furthermore, this very idea is apparent in J.M. Coetzee’s novel, “Waiting for the Barbarians,” where blindness is a reoccuring theme. For example, the narrator is in fact blind to the reality that whilst the Empire is expanding, brutal acts of torture are being inflicted upon the so-called “barbarians” that his Empire wishes to conquer.
Thus, it is clear that the desire for power in empires, especially that of social media, has the ability to separate humans from one another and make one oblivious to the damages caused along the way such.
Works Cited
Coetzee, J. M. Waiting for the Barbarians. Penguin Books, 1993.
Empire and Social Interaction 
Your argument and logic is clear and easy to follow. You used appropriate and relevant articles and statistics to support your claims about the consequences of social media on the modern world. I also liked how you connected your overall argument to empires and Coetzee’s novel. You inform the reader of how social media companies try to compete with each other by getting the most action on their social media platforms, no matter the cost. It is interesting how you imply that this hunger for power is similar to how common empires work as most empires strive to be the best, while ignoring the expense of power. Also, both the social media companies and the narrator of “Waiting for the Barbarians” are blind to the misconduct that occurs under them. This is then tied to the main theme of your website, social interaction, as people can be ignorant of the cost of power and success.
I think you could elaborate on the theme of blindness since it seems that empires tend to not take into account how power and success can cost other empires. The social media companies are competing for the most followers and activity but they have to put each other down in order to truly have the best social media platform. This idea can relate to Virgil’s “Aeneid” as Aeneas and the Trojans leave Carthage in order to continue their journey to destined success. As a result, Carthage stops being built and its progress to success and greatness is hindered by the Trojans. When empires compete, they tend to focus on the outcome, rather than the journey and those they hurt around them during that journey.
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