The Bystander Effect Online

After reading the article, Online Abuse: we need Good Samaritans on the web, I was awakened to the reality of how the Internet is making people less sympathetic or empathetic, and people are sharing or posting things without the realization of how it could affect someone's life. 

I'm sure we have all seen a video of people fighting, people getting hurt, people being taken advantage of, and many other horrendous videos of violence, and yet...we do nothing. 

Does this relate back to the fact that we believe we are safe on the web, behind a screen? 
Are we so desensitized by online personas, that we do not view these people as people anymore? 

In the article, Carrie Rentschler mentions #JadaPose. A horrific instance of how people do not do anything when they see horrible acts online. They don't feel it is their responsibility? They don't feel the realness of the situation? The fact that people can reenact the pose of a woman who was passed out and sexually abused, making it almost seem like a joke, is an awful step for human-kind. 

Even in the "real world" people take out their phones when something happens on the streets. They have to record every instance and post it on social media to go "viral." In these moments, it seems that the Internet is ridding humans of their compassion. Media is making it easier to avoid the actual problem, and they believe by sharing it, that it is enough on their part. 

We need to stand up when we see cyber-bullying, or when we see things that are just not okay. The Internet has a lot of good, and it has helped a lot of people...but it could be desensitizing us of our basic human compassion. Whether people are creating the violence, take out their phones to record the acts of violence, or share violence and make fun of the victims on social media, they're all at fault.

We need to regain the human compassion that I hope was even there to begin with.