Breaking up has always been difficult, whether it’s from a relationship, a habit, or something else that you like. If that “something” is the connection that someone has with the virtual world, then the situation becomes even more challenging to deal with. The social media platforms started as a place where everyone could spread love. Then, with time, those platforms became a place where only the trolls started calling the shots.
Two extremely popular names from Bollywood, Sonakshi Sinha and Saqib Saleem, put an end to their profiles on Twitter last Saturday. Zaheer Iqbal and Aayush Sharma followed their footsteps soon after that event. Sonakshi Sinha, the most renowned one among these celebrities, wrote “Aag lage basti mein…mein apni masti mein! Bye Twitter.” She became a favorite of trolls ever since she gave a wrong answer to a question on Ramayana when she appeared for “Kaun Banega Crorepati.”
Just before deactivating her account, Sonakshi Sinha wrote that the first step that one can take towards protecting their sanity is staying away from all forms of negativity. She also mentioned that negativity is the only constant thing shrouds social media platforms these days, especially Twitter.
It goes without saying that celebrities have always been the prime targets of bullying on various social media platforms. The event of Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely demise fueled a barrage of negativity. The debate regarding nepotism restarted and various theories began flowing about what made the attractive actor commit suicide.
Then again, Twitter is breeding nothing more than hatred for some celebrities. Another actor from Bollywood turned into a messiah for migrant workers as he and his team resorted to Twitter to arrange buses, trains, and even planes for them. The actor and his team rescued hundreds of migrant workers who couldn’t return home due to the lockdown.
According to sociology experts, how someone uses his/her any particular social media platform is entirely up to him/her. Regarding the matters concerning negativity, sociologists say that that they conducted studies to examine the effects of social media on the lives of people. Through their ventures, they found that the excessive use of social media is becoming one of the primary reasons for depressions. They also wonder whether people will behave meanly as they do in the virtual world during face-to-face conversations with celebrities.
Detoxifying from the digital world has been a popular measure that many individuals are taking to get rid of the ill effects of social media overuse. However, such measures may not prove to be enough. Sociologists say that every person, whether he/she is a celebrity or anyone else, needs to practice caution. They should reduce the time spent and forget about exposure gained or lost on social media platforms. Heart-to-heart conversations with real friends are much better than the number of likes or re-tweets earned.
While the aforementioned celebrities recently left Twitter, movie stars always experienced a love-hate relationship with social media over the years.
For instance, Shashank Khaitan, the director of the film “Dhadak” described Twitter as a breeding ground for negativity and hatred. He did so right before deleting his account a day after Sushant Singh Rajput went to the hereafter.
