Using communication technology as a unit of analysis, sociologist Jessica Emami drills down to our human quest for acknowledgement, affirmation, and heroism that underlies both individual and online group misbehavior. This book evaluates widely viewed social media accounts, revealing that public shaming, shunning, and knowledge distortion are very much alive in the public sphere. Timely and provocative, Social Media Victimization: Theories and Impacts of Cyberpunishment exposes the predatory and punitive nature of our digital world, warning that anyone can be a target on social media platforms.
— Virginia K. D'Antonio, University of North Alabama
Social Media Victimization explores the treacherous world of social media where winners achieve fame and losers are ostracized. The book examines the role of rewards and punishment in an environment where sensationalism sells and polarization ignites conflict. An innovative book, Social Media Victimization is a must read for anyone interested in radicalization and political polarization.
— Christine Sixta Rinehart, University of South Carolina
In clear and precise prose, Jessica Emami lays out compelling arguments regarding one of the most disturbing and ubiquitous forms of social hate in our time: cyberpunishment or “cancelling.” Explaining various reasons for why people in seemingly anonymous web space bully, harass, cancel, and mob one another, the author brings us closer to understanding and, hopefully, minimizing the impact of this social scourge. A must read.
— Corinne E. Blackmer, Southern Connecticut State University