Being a Hater and a Supporter Are Starting to Look the Same

Ethel Cain, Teeth Magazine

    Earlier this week, alternative musician Ethel Cain took to her Tumblr to discuss the rising “irony epidemic” in which she feels her fans have made her and her work into a joke. In the post, Ethel highlights how people’s inability to take anything seriously is becoming a problem for both artists and non-artists alike. I think she’s right, and that this is a form of cyberbullying that makes social media an unbearable place to be for a lot of people. 

    Cyberbullying is not a new issue or concept. Since the inception of the internet, forums and websites have existed created specifically to make fun of people. According to the Pew Research Center, 41% of U.S. adults experienced online harassment in 2021, and the Cyberbullying Research Center reports an average of 31% of students in their studies facing the same issue in 2023 with both studies showing these numbers rising. However, this type of sarcastic, passive-aggressive tormenting thinly veiled as jokes and “fan behavior” seems to be becoming more normalized where the victim can’t tell between a joke and a compliment. 

Comments under a video
of a man singing.

    Admittedly I don’t spend as much time online as I used to, but I know what Ethel is referring to and when I am online, I see this sort of unserious response to people’s content everywhere. What starts as a joke seemingly often spirals into a full-blown movement of people taking serious subjects and diminishing them, or repeatedly obsessing over one person to pick on. It doesn't seem to matter what you say or do either - anything can become a joke. Normal people of all ages and statuses simply posting their art or interests are often met with comments full of people trying to be funny at their expense. Being too passionate about any one subject or activity is deemed embarrassing. Trying your best to learn a new skill and being brave enough to do so publicly is met with criticism for other people’s entertainment. 

    This opinion doesn’t come from thin air for me, I’ve been on both sides of this type of mocking (on a smaller scale) which is why I feel so passionate about it. We live in a day and age where so much of our information and culture is shared or developed online. In a world where some feel pressure to be present on social media but won't share their passions for fear of being bullied, it can be difficult to enjoy social media platforms. I don’t find it entertaining. More often than not, I see what I think is a wholesome post of someone doing their best and open the comments only to find a slew of hate. 

Comments under a video
of a woman doing nothing.

    You don’t even have to be failing - or doing anything at ALL sometimes - for this to happen. There’s an astounding lack of empathy for people who aren’t the most tech-savvy or who don’t know “chronically online” culture. The internet is just one big inside joke where if you miss a week, you risk being the next punchline.

    So what’s the solution? It’s not a simple issue to fix, especially considering it’s a cultural social issue revolving around online bullying. It also doesn’t seem like an easy issue for anti-bullying software to catch. But I think the way that Ethel put it in her post was well said: “But conversation is God to man, and I believe in the ability to change things from the inside out. We make the rules, and we can change them.” Of course, it likely won’t be truly fixed, and it will take time and the majority of people working together to make a change, but I don’t think it’s out of the question in our lifetime to see this form of response online die down. 

    I think a great place to start would be erasing the idea that it’s somehow shameful, embarrassing, or wrong to be passionate whether we’re talking about ourselves or someone else. It is not embarrassing to publicly love a musician so much you want to scream or to enjoy dancing even if you don’t have a good rhythm. To think there is something wrong with that is what’s wrong here. What I hope is that something will eventually shift to push this trend off of the internet. Until then, you probably won’t find me singing or dancing online, but I will be attempting to uplift those who are when I see them, and I encourage everyone else to do the same.