Social Media Toxicity.

Posted byShivani GuptaPosted inUncategorizedTags:

I’ve been using social media for almost 10 years now. But the level of toxicity I’ve started encountering now was never the case almost 5-6 years back. Social media has become so much about likes, views, shares and comments. Each one of us has become a victim of this vicious cycle. If someday we receive fewer likes, comments, shares or follows, it affects us mentally. We have started to work for the algorithms instead of working for ourselves. I myself experience a change in my mood when I receive fewer likes or comments someday and this is the case with almost every person who is trying to build an identity of their own or trying to get recognition on social media.

Social media has become so much about shaming, insulting, criticizing and judging people for being who they are. Be it, bloggers, influencers, writers or artists, the negative comments of people don’t just leave their way and torture them emotionally and mentally. Social media toxicity is hampering the growth of individuals. For some, writing, blogging, drawing is not just a hobby. It is their livelihood. People make it their full-time work and earn from it so if you can’t support them then don’t even let them down and make them lose their passion.

I come across comments on some bloggers posts in which people tell them to fix their body, facial features, the way they dress up etc. I see comments in which people abuse the bloggers and influencers for wearing revealing clothes and body shaming them. Stop making people feel that they are inferior or unworthy of anything. Stop spreading hatred through your words. Words are really powerful so choose them wisely. They can either destroy or make people’s life.

To every person who spreads negativity on people’s post, who the hell are you to judge someone? You people won’t be able to do even 1% of what bloggers, influencers, writers or artists do. If you can’t value their efforts, then don’t even disgrace them or make them doubt their self-worth because a single comment of yours can lead to massive consequences.

So stop making people doubt themselves, stop making them question their worth and stop tagging them as failures. You are no one to judge anyone else. We are all happy the way we are, we are all comfortable in what we wear and we are all beautiful the way we look. We don’t need to please people. All we need is to please and satisfy ourselves. All we need is to become a better version of ourselves.

Published by Shivani Gupta

Feeling. Writing. Healing.🌸❤

46 thoughts on “Social Media Toxicity.”

  1. Awareness is good….I’m happy you’ve brought this topic….the best way to tackle such people is to ignore….when their negativity doesn’t get attention….it’ll dissolve to nothing….they feed on attention….when they don’t get their “food”, the negativity would starve to death ❤️✨

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

      1. That’s quite true….though one doesn’t needs to be brave….sometimes the words of silence are much deeper & intense than the noise of words

        Liked by 3 people

  3. Informative article. 100 correct about likes. It does affect you mentally but it also causes you to judge your friends and associates. For example, if I post on my Facebook page about fighting homelessness and only receive two likes. But if I post about drinking and partying or a trip to Rome and receive 100 likes. Ok, then that makes me question the type of people I’m associated with. That shit causes resentment and end friendships.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  4. “We don’t need to please people. All we need is to please and satisfy ourselves. All we need is to become a better version of ourselves.”

    You are right. That’s what it is all about. Creating a better version of yourself.
    Toxic people do not care about destroying the livelihood of another. That’s their aim. That’s their goal.

    This same type of toxicity has destroyed a many online sites. I was online as far back as the late 1999’s and have seen this many time before. When the swarm of trolls destroy one site they move on to the next site and attack with the same tactics.
    It’s the anonymously of the net that they hide behind. And sadly, the public can not see through their tactics.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

      1. I am not saying writers do not need their audience and readers because they do. That’s how they make a living.

        But the abuse heaped upon them shouldn’t be acceptable and a writer should not be viewed in a negative light for defending themselves.

        Liked by 3 people

  6. I had to get off Twitter because there was so much virtue signalling, I found it distressing. People are afraid of talking people, or they avoid looking at their feeds as much as possible. It is an unhealthy way to respond to feeling unheard, but a lot of people feel that since they cannot get the attention of social media companies to express their frustration with low engagement, they attack others who get attention. Again, very unhealthy. I think that social media companies will not curate content for “taste” or “value” because they eyeballs for advertisements. We, on the other hand, have the ability to limit our social media use, and only engage with people who talk to us in a positive way.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. I too took a break from Instagram and now I use it for limited time because I see so much of negativity on the people’s comments section. Mental health was just in news a few days back and this is how they still treat people.
      And yes social media sites like Instagram have started curating content on the basis of advertisements. They’ve changed their algorithms which makes it difficult for our to reach out to the audience and ultimately affects our mental health.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  8. Very powerfull text about the social media.
    You touch right. The actual problem, since some years now, is that toxicity on comment and co.
    It’s sad, because that will say “human mind lost reflexion.”
    Human mind becoming a algorithme ???
    😱😳
    What’s a …
    It’s time to say stop. Because we can lost the real humanity on our discussion.
    Life isn’t a race of like, dislike, trolling for trolling, and bad comment.

    Very happy to read this text. You give hope, because you point this problem.
    It’s necessary.

    Miss G

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  10. There are indeed some very active sources of toxicity out there. My experience has been better with blogging than on Twitter, but even in relatively positive spaces, a dip in likes can still have a disturbingly strong effect.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  12. Thank you for brought awareness about this topic. I felt that over the last years cyberbullying and negativity in social media has become worse. Not everybody has the same level of self esteem, while there might be some people that will just ignore the haters and move on there are also people who you can easily break down if you start trowing shade to them. I know that this is the kind of people who are unhappy with their lives and they want the rest to feel the same way but sometimes I genuinely ask myself do they really enjoy making other people suffer? do they feel empowered or proud of themselves? I will never understand that. I’ve even seen people trowing dead threats and hateful comments towards people with disabilities, kids, elderly people, etc… people need to be better.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. They need to know about the word ‘appreciation’ but all they know about is insulting people and passing degrading and dehumanising comments which affects the mental health of people.

      Like

      Reply

  13. You know what? You’re right Shivani!

    Social media is so toxic and depressing nowadays that I may not allow my kids on there especially Twitter.

    It’s wrong for people to judge but that’s what happens on social media.

    Everywhere is getting toxic and more toxic and there’s a movie that touches a bit on this. The Social Dilemma.

    You should watch it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. The world has become so much ignorant of the realities. Negativity and hatred is all I see on the Internet. All this led me to take a break from social media but for how long can we stay away from the online world?

      I’ll surely watch it.

      Like

      Reply

  14. Many people don’t realise there are many facets to this world and the reality of different people is different. There’s a tendency for some to take every post personally and think it’s about them because of this and sometimes feel defensive. I’m seeing this in whatsapp groups and on social media and slowly, people are starting to just post some feel good happy images and avoid conversation. You are very right. I just don’t know if there’s any way to go back to the way things were, when people actually could discuss differences and still be friends.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

      1. It’s not just social media, but also with acquaintances. If find many taking a break from whatsapp and FB friends, in favor of real friends who pick up the phone. Wrote a poem on this called Friends with Ourselves. This lock down is a nice time to make changes.

        Liked by 1 person

  15. While the social media has played a crucial role in mobilising certain public sentiments at times of utter crisis, what we essentially lacked in mindfulness when it comes to our reactions. The hatred spats and radical opinions is what creates the problem. Social media in itself is a great tool to echo and unite people across a wide demography, irrespective of geographic boundaries. #MyWordsKraft

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started