According to statistics, 74 percent of you watching WCCB are also on your cell phones, and about 53 percent of you are using social media. Tweeting, Facebooking, Instagramming… whatever it is people are doing, there’s also a pretty good chance that they’re being sneaky or mean while doing it. But why?
Maybe it’s something about the relative anonymity that makes the experience less real. But it has very real consequences. Take Marcus Daniel Sintoni, the Lincoln County teen in trouble for his tweets. After being in a car stopped by officers in Charlotte, investigators say he started cyber-stalking, posting profanity-riddled tweets about killing cops… although he did use “lol”. But investigators aren’t laughing.
There’s also the recent cases of teenage girls across the state having naked pictures posted on Instagram. The girls did pose for them, but they were never supposed to be public; just something for boyfriends. But teens are teens, and they eventually got into the hands of 17-year-old Juan Bautista, who also ended up with a cyberbullying charge.
The thing is, stuff like this wouldn’t happen if people didn’t get so stupid when it comes to social media! So why is that? Our Man on the Edge, Robert Wilder, hit the streets to find out…
