Sigmund Freud wrote, “Words have a magical power. They can bring either the greatest happiness or deepest despair; they are capable of arousing the strongest emotions and prompting all men’s actions.” As a society, we need to do more to understand the impact that our words, true or false, could have on people’s lives. Failure to properly weigh words, especially on social media platforms, has led to the loss of lives because of trolling and shaming. Cyberbullying victims, especially kids, can sink into depressions, suffer from sleep difficulties, drop out of school, turn to drugs, or in the worst cases, commit suicide.
There are many instances where cyberbullying immensely affects victims, but their feelings are considered a dramatic reaction by their fellow peers. For example, a person may post a photo of the event they attended, and people may post hateful words and body shame. Such comments may cause heartache to the victim, severely ruining the quality of their lives and their mental health. But to their fellow peers, the victim’s insecurity about this is a sign of weakness.
The people who post hurtful comments usually do not consider their words’ real impact, but the way we speak to each other affects our mindsets, goals, anxieties, and ambitions. Words can inspire, reproach, build, or destroy. This fact makes our tongues and pens powerful tools that we can use to either make or break, kill or cure.
It’s also important to remember that speech is irreversible, and the things we say to people can stay with them for a long time. We may apologize and make amends, but uncharitable words spoken to someone could forever echo in their minds. This is especially true of children, whose impressionable minds retain words more firmly than those of adults.
If people weigh their words before they utter them, the world can become a better place for everyone.
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