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3 Reasons Why There is So Much Hate on Social Media
… and how you can protect yourself
“#RIPnotrealname Lemme put this here for when you die and your hashtag starts trending.”
~Twitter reply
Don’t look in the comment section is common wisdom in today’s social media world, especially when you have a substantial online following. The vitriol and hate in comment sections reach new heights with each trend as a disconnected crowd of savages, under the assumption of cyber anonymity, write the most hateful remarks, unconcerned at all that there are real people behind the screen reading it on the other side.
In July, 2020 a Florida-based man allegedly committed suicide because he had been ‘dragged’ on the streets of Twitter by another female user who trended a rape claim against him. While the truth might be blurry, the fact remains that the groundswell of opinions must have got to this young man and somewhat contributed to his decision.
Growing up in saner times, my guiding instruction was to be civil towards the other person. I was taught to use the ‘magic words’ — please and thank you. I was often reproached for expressing rude remarks or uncivil behaviour and it was only logical to assume that many others were brought up…
