In class this week, we talked about the negative aspects of comments sections and reading the comments on your content. We watched a TED talk of someone talking about their experience with “hate” comments as well as their experience with having phone calls with some of the people that commented on their posts, which I found was really interesting and eye-opening. I found that it showed a lot about the POV of the person commenting, their position, and why they even chose to comment in the first place.
Personally, as a content creator who posts on social media daily and has their comments section open for anyone to comment anything, I don’t like to engage with “hate” comments or comments that aren’t positive or beneficial to me or anyone else. My content is mainly around lifestyle, beauty, fashion, and wellness, and I don’t really get any “hate” comments which I’m really thankful for. I tend to actually encourage comments from my audience, because I view them as positive since it allows me to engage with them (especially on my YouTube videos). So I have more of a positive view of comments sections because of my personal experience online. I also find that when you post YouTube videos, the community you build versus other platforms is so tight knit and close.
However our discussion really made me reflect on commenting IRL versus online. There’s something about hiding behind a screen or a different profile that makes people feel like they can say whatever they want and whatever they are thinking without a filter. I personally don’t resonate with that, I always stick to using my personal profile with my real name when I’m interacting with people and posts on social media. Personally, I think being more aware about what you’re saying and your online presence is MORE important that the profile you’re on and what kind of trouble you might get in through commenting something with your real profile. Because chances are, you probably just shouldn’t even comment it if you’re questioning people’s reactions to it or your reputation.
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