By Erica Gustafson, Contributing Writer
The social media platforms we use today are important in connecting people from all over the world. Though there are numerous benefits from using them, people have progressively gotten more open and willing to post negative comments and threats towards other users.
People say whatever is on their mind, no matter how demeaning or rude, and use the platform as a barrier between facing the person in reality.
One recent example of this is the negative and threatening feedback an Ohio pediatrician received for posting a video on TikTok.
Nicole Baldwin, a 42-year-old pediatrician in suburban Cincinnati, has faced multiple attacks from enraged social media users who didn’t agree with the video she posted on her TikTok account.
On January 10, 2020, Baldwin posted a video of her dancing to an upbeat song while showing the diseases vaccines can prevent. This list included HPV, Influenza, Hepatitis and many more. Baldwin, at the end of the video, stressed that vaccines do not cause autism in children.
Baldwin is an avid believer in using social media as an outlet to discuss public health information to patients and others.
The subject of vaccinations is a very controversial subject in society today, as there are many people who do not subject their children or themselves to vaccines in fear that they cause negative symptoms. Due to the controversy, Baldwin received a stream of negative and threatening comments.
Some comments referred to vaccinations as poison and suggested that the pediatrician was being paid to promote these vaccines. Another comment said, “Dead doctors don’t lie.”
Those were just two of the negative comments that flooded her social media pages. In an effort to diminish her reputation and credibility, people from all over the world started to flood her Yelp and Google review pages with horrible ratings.
By Jan. 14, things escalated even more. People began calling her practice and harassing her and her staff. Baldwin gained a team of volunteers who monitored her social media pages to help prevent the spread of inaccurate information.
Through all of the threats and rude comments, she stated, “There will be more TikToks to come.”
And she has kept her promise.
She has not only posted another video on the flu vaccine, but she has also posted a video on EVALI, a term for vape-related illness, and a video about different Cervical Cancer facts. She is not afraid to stand up against those who have harassed her online.
This story is just another example of people saying things to others that they would never say face-to-face. Bullies don’t have to worry about confrontation while hiding behind a screen.
gustafea18@bonaventure.edu
