Choices are risks, and risks have consequences.

In business and life, we make choices every day, weigh up the risk and consider the consequences, but what about social media and news outlets?

Recent events surrounding Caroline Flack taking her own life is one of the many examples of choice, risk, and consequence. Social Media and news outlets chose to run negative stories about her, knowing there was an element of risk, and the consequence was that she took her own life.

Of course, papers want to increase sales and social media to increase the number of likes and followers, but to what extent? Will they be held accountable? Will they think twice before publishing and circulating stories? Or will they focus on their own gain by berating and humiliating people? It should not matter if a person is in the public eye, a personal matter is exactly that.

These so-called platforms are promoting bullying, and that the ignorance of what that means to any human being on the receiving end. Bullying someone and the impact it has on them can be devastating, lead to mental health issues and in many cases, suicide. 

The very same platforms ask society to help them promote and support their campaigns for anti-bullying, mental health, and well-being awareness. Isn’t this hypocritical? Are society fuelling the poor decisions of these perpetrators? Are we no longer emotionally aware or are we desensitised until we are personally affected? Should society take a firmer stand with the perpetrators? Strength in numbers. What we allow to happen, has a knock-on effect for the next generation, our kids, their kids and so on. 

If you do one thing today, support someone, make a good decision, reduce the risk and let the consequence be one that saves a person who needs saving.