This past Friday I received my copy of “Shame Nation” by Sue Scheff and Melissa Schorr with the foreword written by Monica Lewinsky. In my opinion, this is the best book ever written about online shaming, bullying, and other related online wrongful acts. I believe it should be required reading for every high school student, executive and employee of every single business in America.
It’s just that good!
Yes, I am a consulting expert in the book (thanks for including me Sue), but the reasons behind my recommendation are premised on fact and not bias or emotion. The global epidemic of online hate needs to be stopped, and Shame Nation now gives all of us the tools to do just that.
Online cruelty and shaming are at an all-time high. Sue and Melissa point out in the book that according to a 2014 Pew Research Center survey, 73 percent of adult Intent users have witnessed online harassment. And when it comes to adults under the age of thirty, 65 percent have experienced online harassment. According to a 2014 YouGov survey, 28% of Americans have admitted to engaging in malicious activity focused on someone they didn’t know.
Today, based upon personal experience, I believe those numbers are much higher. Why do I say this? Well, two reasons.
First, as a lawyer, I’m contacted daily by people who are the victims of bullying, shaming, and other malicious online activity. The volume of incoming calls is substantially increasing, not decreasing. Because of the high number of victims, I even wrote a popular blog post that shared detailed resources to try and help victims and their families. Because I’m so impressed with this new book, I’m adding Shame Nation as a key resource to my post. In my opinion, until we as a society stop condoning online bullying and harassment, the problem is only going to continue to get worse.
The second reason this issue is growing is because of the incredibly poor examples we see each day from our leaders and purported role models. What young adults and children are watching and hearing no longer have boundaries. The need for change becomes even more clear when the new norm is perceived as revolving around the President of the United States routinely shared and continues to share derogatory comments about other people on social media.
In Shame Nation, Sue and Melissa nailed these issues by sharing real-world stories, problems, and tragedies that will make you angry and in some cases may even make you cry. At the same time, they also give you proven solutions and resources to help victims of online wrongdoing.
Learn more and protect yourself by getting a copy of Shame Nation today. Share this book with family and friends who are the target of online hate and don’t know where to turn. While you’re at it, make sure to connect Sue and Melissa and let them know how much you appreciate all the hard work they put into this book.
Together we can fix the problem of online shaming, hate, bullying and other harmful online conduct. I believe Shame Nation is a definitive tool that will stimulate conversation, action, and help fix this problem.
Mitch Jackson enjoys combining law, social media and technology to disrupt, hack, and improve his clients’ companies, causes, and professional relationships. He’s an award-winning 2009 Orange County Trial Lawyer of the Year and 2013 California Litigation Lawyer of the Year, who enjoys speaking around the world about business, law and digital.
