So much inane gibberish gets spouted about the power of social media to "harness crowds for good" and so forth that I almost selfishly relish any opportunity to debunk its halo. Especially if said opportunity involves Swedish teenager slut riots.
I'll let Sweden's English language newspaper The Local explain:
Swedish high school students outraged over sexual rumours circulating on Instagram about girls in the Gothenburg area barricaded a school in protest and turned violent when police intervened … The turmoil was set off after an Instagram user asked for tips on "sluts" in Gothenburg, and promised anonymity to anyone sending in pictures. More than 200 pictures were submitted, giving names and alleged sexual activities of girls aged 13 to 14.
Followers of the Instagram account ballooned as more and more pictures of Swedish teens labeled as "sluts" and "whores".
8,000 people were following the account by the time it was taken down, and afterwards, denigrations continued on Facebook and copycat Instagram pages. The teenager charged with starting the account has professed innocence, and a mobile alert has been sent out calling for more protests if the harassment continues.
The incident once again highlights the repulsive superhighway social media enables users to construct–reminding us all that the connectivity that TED talkers like to gush about is an often ugly two-way street. Facebook might help pro-democracy activists organize protests in record time, but it also allows disgusting assholes to shame teenage girls and obtain personal information and photos of them online.
As for the Swedish teenagers who wouldn't stand for it: we salute you. The "slut" account was absolutely unacceptable, to the point where staging a mini-riot was an entirely reasonable and appropriate response.
Sweden just further cemented its status as a socialist paradise full of empowered citizens in my book. These girls didn't take the slut-shaming lightly; they didn't seek out guidance counselors or talk to their parents or appeal to a school bureaucracy that in the U.S. at least would likely have been woefully inadequate.
They took to the streets. Swedish teenagers, it turns out, are ballsier than most full-grown Americans.