Emily Olle: ‘Doggy doo-doo’ and ‘poo jogger’ posts aside, has social media justice gone too far?

When a “poo jogger” was captured defecating on camera, the Facebook vigilante revolution began. But has social media just become a sounding board for personal grievances?

In 2018, captured in the bright lights of vigilante justice, a Brisbane businessman – a dutiful councilman and corporate executive – was photographed perfectly squat in his neighbour’s yard, ready to unload the sins of his body on to their pavement.

The 64-year-old had evacuated his bowels more than 30 times during his pre-dawn, mid-run defecation ritual before he was caught on camera by an enraged neighbour. His stunned image retains prime real estate in my brain. His legacy remains seared into Australian lore. He started a new era for our nation – the era of the “poo jogger”.

Celebrity publicist Roxy Jacenko soon also fell victim to the act, launching a public campaign to smear the woman unleashing her bodily-fluid fury outside her Sydney office in 2019.

Neighbours snapped a photo of their infamous local “poo jogger”, who has been defecating on their paths by night in the Brisbane suburb of Greenslopes.

Soon, Melbourne captured a poo jogger. Then, in 2020, Adelaide’s own number-two fiend emerged. Through social media, a revolution had begun. Those scorned by previously concealed feculent foes reclaimed their lawns.

These days, social media has often become the first port of call for those seeking justice. Community Facebook groups and business pages are filled with CCTV footage of would-be package thieves or dodgy neighbours.

Last month, Australian Education Union branch secretary Leah York quit her $200k role after a Mount Gambier shop published CCTV footage of her taking a handbag off a display and putting it in her bag, then immediately leaving.

This week, a Glenside resident publicly shamed a neighbour for their dog poo sins, printing a cardboard sign with an image of the alleged culprit that read: “You seem to enjoy leaving your doggos doo-doos on my lawn. If it happens again, I’ll happily return them.”

Seemingly the quickest way to capture a serial pest, the culture of public name-and-shaming has become commonplace for personal gripes, both major and minor.

But there’s a fine line between privatised justice and major legal headaches.

I recently spied a public back-and-forth in a community group between a disgruntled homeowner and their cleaner, playing out in front of the watchful eyes of 27,000 Facebook members.

A Glenside resident’s public warning for their “doggy doo-doo” dropping neighbour. Picture: Reddit

Now, I’ll be honest. I’m a messy lady who loves the drama, so I watched with perverse glee and recognition that I probably need to take up a hobby.

But you can’t help but feel like social media has become both a public soundboard for grievances and a clout-chasing exercise, as people seek validation or attention for who has the most clever, or absurd, way of outing their enemies.

Even young lovers are dipping their toe into the wild west of social media shaming – young men and women of Adelaide are now taking to public Facebook groups to find out if they share a cheating partner, or promiscuous love interest.

As older generations raise the alarm at young people’s quests for TikTok fame, it may be best for some to hold a mirror to their own social media usage.

Is a teenager chasing virality with a dance really that different from an adult hoping for 1000 likes on their “doo-doo”-shaming post?

There’s also the issue of the law. Facebook is not the lawless land your Aunt Beryl’s ‘Smart Cities’ rants would have you believe.

While publicising dog poo-droppers is a fairly failsafe exercise – so long as you have video evidence of the act – battling it out with exes, businesses or would-be thieves is a quick way to find yourself embroiled in a court battle.

It might be time we step back and ask whether all of our personal gripes are really a matter for Facebook, or instead could best be served with a polite conversation or a grumble session over a beer with your mates.

But please, for my own entertainment – never stop posting the poo joggers.