Hashtag: #dontbeanidiot

A trending topic on Twitter recently has disgusted the public. #cut4bieber and similar hashtags began appearing on twitter accompanied by pictures of young girls cutting themselves, urging popstar Justin Bieber to quit drugs.

There are so many things wrong with this situation that I have a hard time figuring out where to start, so I’ll try with the beginning.

It’s likely that “Cut for Bieber” was started as a prank against the “Belieber” phenomenon, but the problem is that cutting and self-harm is in no way a joking matter.  And rather than harming the popstar, this prank is hitting young, gullible girls.

Teenage girls spent Monday posting their real photos of bloody razors and cut wrists to Twitter with captions like “Stop smoking weed Justin. I love you so much!” The stomach churning photos are enough to make a person cry.

The issue is something that I have a lot to say about. To take such a serious issue and make it into some sick joke on the Internet is disgusting.

My sister is a big supporter of “To Write Love on Her Arms”, a support system for teens who are depressed. I have had friends who have cut and one friend  who went to rehab for several months. Self-harm is not a laughing matter. This is not the first time Internet pranks have gone too far. Rebecca Black received death threats for her song “Friday.” Is Friday a terrible song? Of course it is. Is it worth a threat on someone’s life? Of course not!

People post angry things all the time, fights are all over Facebook, and there are blogs on how to be an anorexic. The Web, which started out as a way to share vast amounts of information, has transformed into a dark, and sort of scary place.

Not everything about the Internet is bad, however. Around Christmas every year, my two favorite YouTube personalities do what is called “Project for Awesome” where YouTube users post videos supporting their favorite charity.

The internet host’s good things like P4A,   so how can they share the same space with  sick individuals that encourage young girls to harm themselves?

My hope is that those responsible for this horrific hoax realize the seriousness of what they’ve done, and that no more gullible girls are affected by these types of Internet pranks. The Web is a system which should really be used for better reasons than to be an idiot.