The great popularity of social networks in the cyber world is not without setbacks. If some have now found normal to use avatars that portray the idea they give to themselves or how they would like to be seen or defined by others, anyway those who use social networks often do so for reasons inherent in their personality or in combat they would like to lead. However egocentric trends are not unrelated to what could be called a war of posts. The contemporary society devoted stardom as a lifestyle that allows to assess the degree of success at the societal level. In this sense the success of celebrities these days is more bound to their bling, and lesser to their talent. People are enamored by the apparent opulence of celebrities than their actual or supposed talent, that would have brought them to the apex of the global society. The race for the public recognition of individuals, has perverted modes of access to celebrity, and internet and its social networks are significant elements in the observation of these phenomena.

Voyeurism has as alter ego exhibitionism whose corollary is egocentricity. Also the new species that is increasingly seen in social networks loves to flaunt its thoughts, its feelings, its inner life. One way or another, if before people were already keen to know the most intimate details of their favorite star, now they do not hesitate to display their intimate life to impress and bait their peers, hoping to become leaders with followers, if not stars with fans.

However, it must be said that if originally it’s important to praise the noble intentions of some to share with people with whom they have an affinity or not, what they feel regarding their privacy, or matters that are affecting the public interest. It’s nevertheless relevant to note to be outraged that this noble ambition, is increasingly unfortunately perverted by some, because there is now a manifest willingness of some to get noticed while trying to dismiss at the same time those who could put them in the shade when they are seeking their 15 minutes of fame. Also there there's a real trench warfare smoldering without saying its name, between different internet users, the race for the “like" and comment has become the single most seek object and necessarily the quality of posts is going to hell the water, since while seeking the largest audience some are willing to shock the public to get noticed; a method that has proven itself in Hollywood.

In this war of position some newbies have found a new vocation of stardom on the web and engage in a geostrategic behavior. Never commenting on the posts of others, never liking others posts, wanting to project the image of scholars holding rocket science in almost everything, they still indulge occasionally in industrial espionage, visiting in the dim veil of the web, the pages of their opponents to copy ideas and posts that could increase the index of "likes" or comments, on their own page.

This squabble could have remained a laughable detail of cyber activity of users, if eventually it was not likely to destroy the essential. Also one can note that in the African Afro descendant community and facing several challenges, this behavior is greatly damaging, as those that are most read with a significant number of affiliates and followers to their page never rub shoulders virtually with others who also have a good presence on the web, finding that it degrades them to comment or like of others refusing at the same time to acknowledge the talent of others. More over the exchange between different users often end up against navel-gazing sensitivities of some which end impeding productive and constructive debate, some refuse to comment to share or like posts of others just because they do not feel them right, even if the relevance of the publications is proven and concerns to the highest degree the community. Even if some decide to participate in the debate in some posts, they sometimes target stakeholders whom they dislike for unclear reasons to settle personal scores, often by ignoring the purpose of the publication. Publications therefor become a pretext for a cyber fist.

There is another war of posts that is positive, because of course there is also a lot of positive point in the squabble raging on the Internet, it is the principle of what is commonly called the right of reply, that can extend to the duty of explanatory supplement, and probity of facts, as some Internet users, who are serious in their communication approach, and are sometimes frustrated in their hearts by what others have posted do not hesitate to post in their turn articles, or to provide feedback in response to previous publications which have outraged, or have been unsatisfactory from their point of view. This squabble is constructive when it gets rid of invective and public insult should be encouraged more and more during exchanges of users on social networks. The net of knowledge and social progress which should be the useful purpose of social networks can only be better forged with the addition of opinions of each other as well as complementary or opposite.

By Hubert Marlin

journalist Writer