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Sarah Moss has decided to end her column due to the increasing toxicity and abuse she has faced in public debate, particularly online. This trend indicates a broader issue where decent voices are being driven out of discourse, leaving the field to louder, more aggressive individuals.
Sarah Moss’s column come to an end, not only because I enjoyed reading it but because of what her decision says about the increasingly toxic nature of public debate.
When decent people are driven out of public life because they are subjected to abuse, threats and intimidation from angry strangers online, we all lose. Why would anyone choose to put their head above the parapet when doing so can mean opening themselves up to relentless personal abuse, often from people emboldened by the anonymity of social media? There is a wider cost to this.
If thoughtful, reasonable voices decide that contributing to public debate simply isn’t worth the personal toll, we are left with a society increasingly dominated by those most willing to shout, insult and threaten. As long as social media companies are allowed to provide the platforms for this behaviour without being meaningfully held to account, the problem will only get worse.
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Online Abuse Public Debate Sarah Moss Censorship Social Media Responsibility