Some Aspects Related to Identifying and Preventing a Certain Type of Online Behavior

Abstract

The emergence and development of the Internet meant profound changes in society, in the social environment in general, in the mentality and development of the human personality. Freedom of expression faces new challenges in terms of drawing its limits, as the online environment has changed not only the way we relate to each other, but even the way we relate to the law, to what "legal limits" mean. (https://didactform.snsh.ro/). The Internet is a different territory, dominated by its own laws, starting with its emergence in 1965 and continuing with its democratization in recent decades. The supremacy of traditional law falters in this environment because it cannot contain this informational chaos or keep pace with its inventiveness. At a time when humanity is overwhelmed by the volume and impact of misinformation orchestrated with the help of technologies available to everyone, it is imperative that Internet users develop their individual ability to evaluate the information they access in this medium and learn how to use digital means of communication in a way that benefits both themselves and those with whom they interact online. Media and information education must become a strategic objective of educational policies if we want to live in a functioning society, populated with peers capable of distinguishing between truth and falsehood, between facts and opinions, between reality and "alternative facts". (R. Coravu, 2021). Although we also have regulations to combat disinformation and hate speech, for the most part these aspects escape the control of the law in the online environment. That is why, in the end, self-regulation of the big online platforms was resorted to. This study aims to reveal some types of unwanted behavior online, especially on social networks, as electronic alternatives to illegal or immoral behaviors, including those that target children, such as bullying or exposure to inappropriate content. Children, less experienced than adults, can more easily fall into Internet traps. In the literature, treacherous or malicious behaviors have been identified that have a negative effect on people's online experiences and can influence and generate, in a chain, such an effect on other online users, especially young people. Analysis of what constitutes, for example, vaguebooking, subtweeting, self-praise, humblebragging, fear of being left out, mansplaining, tweetstorming, public humiliation, milkshake duck, snooping will be shown and presented (and, subsequently, the publication on social networks of what is heard or seen), fake news, fake images and, last but not least, trolls (whose activity in the online environment is carried out with the stated purpose of leading to confusion, disruption or even conflicts and that can distribute fake news, fake links, etc.). (V. Turk, 2019). We hope that the research carried out will constitute an approach that will determine future analyzes of what represents the causes of unwanted effects, in the online and social environment in general, through the informative content that the study brings.