Negative consequences of toxic content
In the context of the strong development of cyberspace, information becomes more accessible and spreads at a speed far surpassing all traditional forms of media.
These contents stem from a very clear purpose. First of all, it is the desire to stimulate users' curiosity with shocking, sensational or excessive offensive information and images of phenomena that are attracting public follow-up and curiosity to attract views, likes and shares.
Not only for economic purposes, some people also deliberately "create trends" by making offensive and deviant behaviors a form of "new trend". When repeated continuously, these harmful content begin to impact viewers' awareness, especially adolescents - the group that uses social media the most but has limited information resistance.
Regular exposure to violent videos, vulgar words or medical behavior makes young people easily consider it normal, gradually forming an unprofessional lifestyle and deviating from traditional cultural values - ethics and modern civilization.
In general, although the starting point may be just "view", " like" or curiosity satisfication, the consequences that these harmful content leave behind are extremely profound. They not only erode cultural values, distort the awareness of young people, but also cause public opinion to fall into a state of chaos, creating conditions for false information to spread and weakening the foundation of social ethics.
"Green" cyberspace, reducing the impact of deviation trends
From reality, it can be seen that fighting against bad and toxic information and distorted lifestyles is a task closely related to protecting the ideological foundation, stabilizing society and preserving civil morality.
Recent decrees, such as Decree 147/2024/ND-CP dated November 9, 2024 on Management, provision and use of Internet services and information on social networks, have stipulated the rights, obligations and responsibilities of social network users - initially creating a legal corridor to promptly handle violations. Along with that, the coordination of the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is contributing to improving the effectiveness of monitoring, detecting and removing violating content on digital platforms.
In parallel with the efforts of management agencies, social networking platforms - especially cross-border platforms - must be responsible for censorship tools, content filtering algorithms and the ability to respond to requests from authorities. When the platform fulfills this obligation well, the online environment will significantly reduce the amount of malicious content.
However, practice shows that how effective the platform is depends largely on the user. Each individual, as the recipient and spreader of information, is the "first line of defense" against bad and toxic content. A share click can unintentionally diffuse violence or cause community damage; but an act of reporting, blocking, or refusing to share can also contribute to stopping the cycle of harmful spread.
For individuals and the community, improving digital skills, identifying fake news, proactively responding - reporting violations and spreading positive values will help "green" cyberspace, reducing the impact of deviant trends. Community support is key, because if users do not help, bad and toxic content will have a hard time getting by.
To enhance the effectiveness of cyberspace protection and promptly prevent bad and toxic content, it is necessary to synchronously implement a number of issues such as:
First, promote the improvement of cyberspace management institutions, emphasizing the need to update policies to keep up with the speed of digital technology changes, enhance legal responsibility for individuals and organizations that intentionally create and disseminate harmful content, and at the same time supplement a unified inter-sectoral coordination mechanism from the central to local levels.
Second, building a healthy media ecosystem, including increasing the production of positive and attractive content; investing in domestic digital media platforms; supporting mainstream press to improve the ability to spread quickly and deeply in the online environment.
Third, improve the capacity of "inflationary campaign" for citizens, bring digital safety education to schools; train skills to distinguish fake news; encourage the community to participate in cyberspace protection through reporting, criticism and spreading a culture of civilized behavior.
Fourth, promote the application of new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, big data analysis and early warning systems, to promptly detect trends in harmful content that are at risk of spreading.
Synchronously implementing these orientations will contribute to creating a safe, humane, sustainable online environment...
