Black and White became GREY

Cyberbullying

A few days back, I was scrolling through Instagram and came across the recent post of a famous Telugu anchor. She was having the time of her life with her family on a beach and was very generous to share glimpses with her followers.

On any day, I would just swipe up and move to another post; since she is an activist who constantly addresses the amount of cyberbullying she faces, I wondered what kind of comments she had received for this specific series of posts wearing the attire appropriate for the beach.

And it was ridiculous as hell!

Shaming plus Comparing and shaming

This particular celeb is a mother of two kids. So, according to people in the comment section, she should not wear such attire and post it online. It’s shameful and sets a bad example for them. Over that, she is just an anchor and apparently should learn how the wives of top celebs are fully covered.

I know nothing about parenting, and I often say that it is a pretty tough job and thereby needs to be taken only when someone is absolutely ready physically, mentally, and economically but being skillful in dressing sense as a checkbox to be a good parent was never discussed by any well-read people.

Age shaming: I don’t know what happiness a person gets by calling a woman above 30 AUNTY
WHY?
(if you know, please comment and let me know the answer)

Desperation

Years back, I was so hesitant to create an Instagram account. I believe, with an increase in the usage of several social media apps proportionately, I will spend more time with each of them. Even now, when people suggest coming to a new application for better connectivity, I would be the last to jump on it. The irony now is that I can’t walk away from Instagram as it has become a potential information source, and I would feel disconnected from the world. So, I come up with measures such as a time limit to get the best of it.

Coming back to the point: It takes an immense amount of thought for me to just open Instagram, which makes me wonder who these people are having this whole time in front of them not only to scroll Instagram but also comment on people’s posts. Not stopping there; they take it so personally and start abusing it.

I hear celebs say they develop a thick skin, and negative comments don’t affect them. But come on, who are we kidding here – No one deserves comments that ask to reveal more or point to having intercourse.

When I saw those comments, the feminist in me was wide awake, and the humanist in me wanted to write a blog highlighting cyberbullying for women. But, to enjoy my remaining few days of vacation, I silenced both of them to take a break and voice out my opinion later.

Meanwhile, I heard a WAR podcast from the show Konchem Clarity Konchem Reality by Ajay Padarthi. He highlighted that the virality of Tiktok, where the titillating content is pushed by an algorithm fetching more views over some less revealing yet informative ones, is, in a way, a war strategy.

It made me think – 
Was the photo she uploaded sexy? – YES, 
Is it titillating in any form? – Yes.

She is a great woman, constantly voicing out her opinion and standing by what is right (according to her). Didn’t she think of the kind of comments she would get for the post she was about to upload. 

All the feminists who were with me from the start might be losing their edge with the above statement but bear with me; I am about to finish.

At first, I was entirely on her side – thinking she had the right to post any picture. Her body – Her social media account- Her right. But after the pod, it made me question – Knowing the consequences, did she still post those pics just to get a buzz out of it.

There’s an option not to post, too, right? Why go through all the bullying when you can have a calm vacation all by yourself. 
As a woman, is this even appropriate to say? – I don’t know.

I thought writing about cyberbullying would be a clear black-and-white piece. The one who is doing it is wrong, and the one on whom it’s done is the victim. It disheartened me when it became Grey.

Drop your thoughts in the comments.