Make an obnoxious comment online and most of the time you'll be ignored. But make it at the wrong moment, and you might end up sharing the stage with likes of Wu Hongfei, Joey Duncan, Remel Newson, Joseph Jackson, or Colby David Knecht. All of them got themselves into trouble for comments made online.

In famous Chinese singer Wu Hongfei's case, it was a remark that she'd like to bomb two government buildings.

In others it was perceived threats against media celebrities or public security. 

But is arresting people for online comments justified?  Many would see this as frivolous offhand remarks, not serious threats. There is always a disconnection between the real world and digital world.

Since there is a lot of unverified information running through the Internet, it is up to users to protect and enlarge this public sphere of voices.

Should there be a yardstick to define annoyance because at times views could be misconstrued to suit anyone's point?

This is not the first time social media threats have resulted in arrests. In an era where the social media juggernaut seems unstoppable, people rely on various platforms to share information.

Things move so fast across social networks. The rising tide of evolving social media platforms leads to befuddlement among many of us.

In a globalized world, anybody from anywhere can write something that could be read as defamatory, derogatory, or threatening. With the online world dominated by young people, it's hardly surprising that the language can be crude or even obscene. But is it really possible or desirable to regulate the social media space?

Governments all over the world are scrambling to create or adapt laws to regulate online speech. Still, containing technology is going to be a challenging proposition. Every law is still evolving because the domain of social media is itself evolving expeditiously.

Across the web, there are racist attacks, religious attacks, sexist attacks, and abusive attacks containing factually incorrect information. There is a very thin demarcation line between sudden provocation and reasonable expression of emotion.

As capacity to communicate grows, could we say that technology has outpaced us, given the hectic pace at which information is generated at the click of a button?

Each one of us has the prerogatives to express our opinions.

But after all, freedom does not mean that one should transmit a message spawning an atmosphere of fear. There is no right to shout "fire" in the Internet's crowded theater.

People should communicate with a certain degree of responsibility, and keep a sense of equilibrium between free speech and public safety. Nonetheless, turning this sense of personal responsibility into defined legal codes is still a difficult task.

Social media will continue to serve as a potential discussion space, as this will define the formation of civil society at large.

It's difficult to predict what will happen in this space tomorrow. We can only tackle these issues as they arrive, and yet the problems keep changing or evolving every year.

On the positive side, this speed comes with its own solutions. Minute by minute, this media space provides its own self-correcting mechanism. Post a rumor based on untruth, and the next minute there will be hundreds of people correcting you then and there.

The essence of all battles of words lies in the minds of the public opinion and their real-time conversations. It will be an intriguing contest in decades to come as technology evolves.

The author is a Master's candidate in Global Business Journalism at Tsinghua University. himanshu28102000@gmail.com