Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, evaluated the issue of bullying and lynch culture, which has become widespread recently.
“An individual is targeted. Their reputation and character are assassinated”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan reminded that in lynch culture, the opposing side is targeted. He said, “The aim is to make people hostile towards the chosen target with aggressive and untrue reasons. Beyond demonizing, it leads to hatred and demonization of the lynched person. There's a desire to destroy them. There is serious defamation and black propaganda. An individual is targeted. Their reputation and character are assassinated. It's a culture that wants to devalue a person and harm them in front of society. This has always existed in humans. It happens as peer bullying among students at school or among neighbors. But after social media emerged, it globalized.”
Tarhan stated that this situation can even influence elections, and a film was made in the USA about eliminating an opponent through lynching. He added, “Evil has globalized and become ordinary and normalized due to social media.”
“If there is general tension in society, all kinds of evil can be perpetrated”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that the accessibility, convenience, and ease of social media have increased such situations, and continued:
“In psychology, there is a ‘General Strain Theory.’ That is, if there is general tension in society, all kinds of evil can be perpetrated. First, tension is raised, controlled tension is created. This is called the ‘controlled tension strategy.’ Within that tension, the perceptions of the masses are changed at that moment, and people are made to do things they would never normally do. Many situations such as lynching, looting, provocation, and aggression emerge.
“No one without a blue tick should be able to use social media”
People do things they will later regret. The impact of social media here is its easy accessibility, its easy transformation into bullying, its rapid effect, the quick spread of negative content about the victim, and most interestingly, these actions are carried out with hidden identities on social media. The perpetrator can change identities. If the freedom of anonymous identity on social media were removed now, and everyone had to be with their own identity, many defamations would surely end. Most malicious defamations are done by changing identities. Therefore, the world is moving in this direction. In the coming years, no one without a blue tick should be able to use social media. Because evils, acts of violence, and crimes are increasing significantly. They are increasing globally.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also reminded that prosecutors in the USA have filed lawsuits against some major platforms, stating, “Children and adolescents are most affected by this. The mental health of adolescents is negatively impacted. The number of hospitalized adolescents has increased. We can say that social media is the biggest factor exacerbating the problem. In my opinion, those without an open identity on social media will not have an account in the near future, and they shouldn't.”
“Mischief, entertainment culture is used as a psychological battlefield”
Regarding the lynching incidents directed at countries and institutions, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “We saw the best example of this during the Gezi events. During those events, I saw from my Twitter account that the whole world had dropped everything and started a tremendous propaganda campaign. Social media has a heat map, showing where it's most clicked and visited. That area was very prominent. It was 2013, as you know, and it was discussed as a project. Later, in 2015, England established Social Media Brigades. What is a brigade? It's a military term. A brigade consists of roughly a few thousand people. They found a few thousand social media personnel. What does a brigade do? It fights. This means they are choosing the social media realm as a battlefield. They are officially doing this, establishing it, and opening positions. We see that the mischief or entertainment culture of young people on social media is being used as a psychological battlefield. We can say that quite comfortably.”
“Some people are very sensitive to criticism. They 'phish' a person who is sensitive to criticism”
Regarding image manipulations and the deliberate spread of fake news, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “Some people are very sensitive to criticism. They 'phish' a person who is sensitive to criticism. If a person immediately produces many answers to criticism, they say, 'Okay, this one took the bait.' They keep sending messages, and that person feels compelled to constantly respond, falling into a trap. They respond without thinking and with anger. Especially if it's a person with impulse control issues, they can act without thinking.”
Pointing to the Stop-Think-Act paradigm, Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated, “They cannot use it. When they can't, they make mistakes and regret it. Many people also fall into depression for that reason, completely withdrawing from social media, because they feel they cannot use it in a balanced way.”
“Cyberbullying is the definition of this”
Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan also commented on cyberbullying: “A person can easily display behaviors on social media that they would normally hesitate to do in real life. Cyberbullying is the definition of this. It has thus been defined as Cyberbullying... Cyberbullying is especially common among young people and adolescents. It has already been defined as an internet crime. It has started to become one of the most frequently filed lawsuits in courts. In situations such as opening fake accounts, posting false advertisements through someone else's account, or using their name, there are hardly any who are publicly humiliated and do not file a lawsuit.”
“When you accidentally buy into defamation, it means you've fallen into a trap…”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also stated that they try to create tension in people to make them make mistakes and 'explode,' saying, “The aim is to provoke and make the person explode, causing them to make a mistake. Some people target an individual. They find their weak spot. Then they constantly press on that nerve. They make them scream, and then say, 'This person is always like this, always screaming.' There, they put the person in a wrong situation when they were right. Social media can do this very easily with unreal identities. Many people mentally buy into this false information. When you accidentally buy into the defamation made against you on social media, it means you've fallen into a trap.”
“Prominent figures need to speak more carefully in public”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted that if lynch culture is carried out systematically, the fight against it must also be systematic. He said, “Individuals prominent in society need to be much more careful when taking steps. Walking on a flat plain is not the same danger as walking in the mountains. Therefore, it is beneficial for high-profile, renowned individuals, those pointed to with a finger, to speak more carefully in public, to weigh their words more, and to definitely consult an expert if they are going to discuss a topic. Their charisma can be tarnished by a small mistake.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also stated that social media grants people the freedom to make mistakes, saying, “The freedom to make mistakes can turn into a kind of lynching. People in the public eye have both admirers and detractors. There's professional rivalry, and there can be people who want to see them fall flat on their face. If you give them material, you'll be lynched.”
“If the person who made a mistake can apologize from the start saying, ‘I misunderstood this and made a mistake,’ the lynching can be stopped”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that if someone can apologize from the very beginning in case of a potentially erroneous behavior or post, saying, ‘I misunderstood this, I made a mistake,’ the lynching will cease. He explained, “If a person also analyzes an event, they won't give material for lynching. They can manage any potential lynching material in the best way. If they are exposed to lynching, they can minimize it very easily. We can say that a self-aware person doesn't easily fall into these traps, and even if they do, they can exit with minimal damage.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan warned that people can sometimes make mistakes out of anger that could lead to lynching. He said, “It's wiser to try not to become the subject of talk on social media; once you're there, it's very difficult. But even so, the nature of social media is that it forgets very easily; traces remain, but it's forgotten… We used to say, 'a liar's candle burns only until nightfall,' but now a liar's candle burns until the internet, it comes out. Those who lynch are sooner or later exposed. The truth always comes out eventually.”
“Let’s not fear social media, but our inability to use it wisely”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that avoiding social media for this reason is not realistic. He said, “Social media has now become a global information access and communication network. Social media has every advantage in informing people, society, and making your work visible. The social media technology itself is inherently neutral. Now social media and artificial intelligence are merging. When it merges with artificial intelligence, AI will start doing some things, as if with hidden identities. Therefore, its regulation is important. It is also important to convey what is good, true, and beautiful here. If we use social media with good intentions, good purposes, and good methods, it will serve good and beauty. Therefore, let's not fear social media, but our inability to use it wisely.”
“Gaming addiction has become very widespread, there are hospitalized adolescents”
Emphasizing that during adolescence, emotions often dominate over reason in young people, Prof. Dr. Tarhan concluded his words as follows:
“If adolescents don't have a secure family environment, if the family isn't warm and appealing, they fall into the pleasure traps in the media. They easily succumb to malicious traps on social media. Gaming addiction has also become very widespread; there are now people receiving inpatient treatment for it in hospitals. If there's a secure family, if parents use a common language, there's no need to fear social media at all. Now, I see in many families that the child has become the boss of the house, the leader of the house. This is very risky. When the situation is like this, what does the child like? Social media… They have their phone all day, they refuse school, they don't go to school. This has now become a societal problem. Therefore, all disciplines need to come together and do something about this.”
