Monica Lewinsky recently gave a TED Talk in which she called herself “Patient Zero” for online bullying and shaming. Lewinsky says before her affair with former President Bill Clinton, the media landscape was quite different. She claims that she was the first person to truly experience online global public shaming, which has now become the norm. Lewinsky notes that she is now working as a social advocate to create a safer and more compassionate social media environment. In the TED Talk , Lewinsky notes that she made a big mistake. However, she questions, “Who didn’t make a mistake at 22?” Lewinsky says that she is constantly reminded of her indiscretion and that she regrets her actions deeply. However, she says that what the media did to her was unprecedented at the time and ultimately set the stage for what was to come in the world in regards to online bullying and public shaming.
“Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of my mistake, and I regret that mistake deeply… In 1998, after having been swept up in an improbable romance, I was then swept up into the eye of a political, legal and media maelstrom like we had never seen before. It was the first time traditional news was usurped by the Internet, a click that reverberated around the whole world.”
Lewinsky says she was “Patient Zero” for the new phenomena of losing a reputation almost instantly via lighting-fast internet news and communications.
“I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously.”
Lewinsky is hoping to now use her unique story to push for a more compassionate social media environment and to help victims of online shaming overcome the obstacles in front of them. What do you think of Monica Lewinsky’s new position as an advocate to end cyber bullying? Is she a good role model for victims of shaming, or is she stepping out into the spotlight now due to Clinton’s name being thrust back into the spotlight ?
