Social media companies must do more to stop online abuse as Declan Rice’s partner takes action

Declan Rice’s longtime girlfriend, Lauren Fryer, an Arsenal midfielder, deleted every Instagram post that she had made in the previous few days following yet another barrage of derogatory remarks, messages, and posts about her. Incidents of this kind have unfortunately not been unique to this instance, nor is it likely to be the last.

Social media users noticed similar remarks making the rounds back in March of this year. Just seeing them again leaves me feeling drained and annoyed, and I can’t begin to imagine the feelings Miss Fryer must be going through right now.

It is disheartening how often the phrase “enough is enough” is uttered without any significant action being taken that directly affects the state of social media and its ease of use as a vehicle for abuse of all kinds. These internet trolls now turn to social media to target people and get their jollies.
Although they are crucial, the tactics used by groups like Hope United to teach people how to report and block online troll abuse are frequently a little hollow. It can offer some temporary relief and escape, as someone with a trigger-happy finger for a block button knows, but it is not a long-term solution.

Talking about the things these internet trolls say can frequently elicit replies along the lines of “don’t give them the attention they want.” Referring back to the schoolyard bully, the adage “ignore them and eventually they’ll get bored and go away” is still applicable, but in the real world of social media, the environment is so large and populated with profiles that these practical strategies just don’t work.

Putting them front and center is our best chance of getting those who can make important decisions to realize that these platforms allow these people to be abused with little to no repercussions. People now have a superpower thanks to anonymity on the internet, which many have chosen to use for evil.

This is the most recent instance. Arsenal is working hard to raise awareness of this online abuse. Aaron Ramsdale has openly discussed his experiences with it in the Player’s Tribune and on Amazon’s All or Nothing series about the team, and Jorginho has committed to running advertisements around the issue.

We must abandon the belief that abuse will never end or that confronting it will somehow violate people’s “freedom of speech.” Speaking your mind does not grant you immunity from repercussions or the ability to avoid scrutiny of what you have said.

Even though we’re talking about it more publicly, we still live in the hope that something will change. What worries me is how long it will actually take for that to happen, and even then, the consequences won’t be worth whatever it is that these platforms are clinging to.