Misfortune… Facebook

Last week, Facebook was full of posts from a male employee of Vietnam Airport Ground Services Company Limited (VIAGS) about serving passengers in wheelchairs with inappropriate words, even suggesting discrimination and disrespect for people with disabilities. After a tiring day at work, this male employee typed a status and posted it publicly on his personal Facebook:“Is there a wheelchair convention today or something? Every trip since this morning has had 4-5 wheelchair passengers. The service is so bad I can't even go to the toilet…”(quoted verbatim - PV).

The offensive status posted by a male employee on his personal Facebook page was condemned by many people (screenshot).

Immediately after posting, a wave of anger and criticism flooded the male employee's personal Facebook. Most netizens expressed disgust and condemned the unprofessionalism of the male employee: "I don't understand what you were thinking when you wrote that. You are both insensitive and thoughtless"; "It's already a crime for a person to be disabled, and you still mocking him like that is unacceptable"; "He must have had enough money to write sensationalistic posts to ruin his career"; "People in wheelchairs also spend money to buy services and don't ask anyone for a penny"... Panicked by the fierce reaction of netizens, the male employee quickly locked his Facebook, but the status was still shared across all groups and associations. The incident reached its peak when Vietnam Airport Ground Services Company Limited (VIAGS) stepped in to verify and issued a document suspending the male employee.

In the past, there was a proverb: "A hand's trouble is not as bad as a mouth's trouble" which refers to careless speech, not knowing how to be careful, not thinking ahead, leading to trouble for oneself. Nowadays, netizens often sarcastically criticize the bad habit of Facebook, referring to thoughtless statuses and comments on social networks that bring unpredictable consequences. Facebook in particular and social networks in general are virtual spaces, but with the rapid development of the Internet, that space quickly occupies a large part of real life; thereby, Facebook users are no longer anonymous users behind the keyboard, but through their expressions on Facebook, they have expressed the views and opinions of a person in real life. That's why netizens have a saying: Tell me your Facebook, I will tell you who you are! On social networks, everyone has the right to express their thoughts, feelings, share private stories, and affirm their individuality with the world; Therefore, every status, comment, and photo posted must go through the community's "filter" of 9 out of 10 opinions. It's fine for normal people, but if they are famous, the "filter" is even more strict.

Words can fly, but Facebook can still be traced no matter how quickly you delete it. Illustrative photo.

Looking back at the Facebook scandals in recent years, we see that many famous people have been involved in keyboard scandals that have caused their careers to falter. For example, in 2021, Meritorious Artist Duc Hai's account with a blue tick (confirming the owner's account) posted a personal attack with some harsh and offensive words that made fans very upset. Immediately after that, artist Duc Hai was dismissed from the position of Vice Principal of Saigon College of Culture, Arts and Tourism. Or recently, on artist Xuan Bac's Facebook account, he posted the fable "Mother's Slap", which made many readers think that the artist "sarcastically" criticized the audience for criticizing the quality of Tao Quan, leading to a wave of anger on social networks. Artist Xuan Bac not long after sent a sincere apology to the audience for causing them to "misunderstand".

Trouble on Facebook, like trouble with the mouth in real life, after the noise and uproar, everything will eventually fade away and pass away. However, whether it fades or passes away, the "trouble" is a lifelong lesson for each individual, reminding them to behave carefully and be responsible for their statements. Trouble with the mouth can be carried away by the wind, but trouble on Facebook, no matter how quickly it is deleted, can still be traced. Especially with famous people with many fans, including teenagers and young people, it is easy to be influenced mentally, often imitating and following the trends of behavior, conduct, and words of famous people. At that time, the war of words on the internet can spread to real life, becoming a wave of attacks and hot violence by fans in the name of idols. For artists, fame often goes hand in hand with scandal. They can spend years painstakingly building their image, but with just a few clicks, it can all come crashing down, affecting their entire career, causing them to be boycotted by brands and subject to legal punishment.

Facebook in particular and social networks in general are spaces for connection and entertainment. To avoid trouble... Facebook, no one tells you to beautify yourself, but just live according to the standards of behavior in real life: do not violate the standards of good customs and national cultural identity; demonstrate civility and politeness in communication; do not take advantage of positions and powers when participating in social activities; do not participate in, incite, incite, assist or cover up illegal acts of others... The Law on Cyber ​​Security and the code of conduct on social networks issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications will be the basis for handling deviant behavior and conduct.