The evolution of internet culture has given birth to things both good and bad. On the good side, it's helping people find long-lost friends and family, sharing heartwarming stories of success and love, and having a fun time. On the bad side, it's almost everything else. In an age when your internet presence can either make or break you, we need to analyze whether social media is actually helping us connect to each other or just increasing division and hate.
If you've been online in the past few years, you may have noticed the increasing trend of "canceling" people. Wikipedia calls it "no longer morally, financially, and/or digitally supporting people;" others like the British actress Jameela Jamil call it a trash movement.
Jamil brings up this point because, as a body-positivity activist, she is frequently told that she cannot really represent the women who are insecure with their body image if she experiences thin privilege. Her honest responses to people online (one saying she has been combating fatphobia for years, as well as a confession that she isn't perfect in her inclusion) have caused many to accuse her of hypocrisy. To these people, Jamil is "canceled".
Jameela, I agree with you. This entire "call-out/cancel" culture has good intentions but is such a regressive way of action. Of course, there is nothing wrong with bringing up our mistakes when we are analyzing ourselves. In that same vein, no one's behavior should excuse whether they are actually wrong, like if they are a violent racist or a sexual abuser or something of the sort.
But for situations like Jameela's, why are we so quick to "cancel" someone instead of educating them on the problem? When someone actually apologizes for their mistakes and actively tries to learn from them, why do we vilify them? They are working to be a better person. "Cancelling" them only shows them that their efforts are not worth it.
On the other side of this issue is the rise of "stan" culture. I've noticed this most frequently on Twitter, but to summarize, a stan (term popularized by Eminem) is a hardcore fan. They are so obsessed with their idols that they refuse to let them make a mistake. But we are all human. There is no reason to pretend like we're perfect. Celebrities, authorities, and even our friends need to be held accountable when they do something wrong. We need to be held accountable.
In some ways, we should have been wary of this from the beginning. It is so easy to become consumed with toxic thoughts when you spend the majority of your day on websites that never stop giving you terrible news and telling you what to believe. But we don't have to cancel the internet. We just need to understand that it impacts our lives more than we think. And one last thing — we don't have to cancel people we don't like. Just dislike them and be done with it!
