The internet can be exhausting!

Like this comment so I can keep coming back.”

“We got blank before GTA6.” “Still a better love story than Twilight.” Do you ever feel like the human race should just end? I occasionally feel that sentiment while reading comments on social media.

I know people who consume social media content without reading the comments, and I think they are wrong. If that describes you, the next time you watch a music video or short film that you find particularly moving, do yourself a favour and read the comments.

The depth of the responses will shock you. I have watched videos I hated, only to find online strangers pouring their hearts out in the comments, revealing the deepest, darkest moments of their lives and how the video in question saved them.

I have also seen videos I loved but which others seemingly hated for perfectly valid reasons. People despise the anonymity of the internet because it brings out the worst in others, compelling them to utter vulgarities they would never say to your face.

However, that anonymity is also valuable because it allows people to express themselves openly, and nowhere is that freedom more powerfully manifested than in the comments, drawing the most timid individuals out of their shells and encouraging them to bear their souls.

You can’t appreciate the subjectivity of art without reading social media comments and seeing how people can have such drastically different reactions to the same piece of content.

Experts argue that human beings are lonelier than ever today and the internet is partly to blame. The same tool engineers designed to bring us together has only succeeded in isolating us.

However, social media has expanded our reach, giving us a glimpse into the lives of people we shall never meet from countries, cultures and traditions that could not be more different from our own.

Now, I say all that, and yet nothing frustrates me more than social media comments. Here is what happens on Instagram at least 10 times a day. I watch a video in which a content creator reveals that President A was married to B.

That particular tidbit does not matter, but it is wrong, and I don’t find out until I jump to the comments where someone says, ‘Actually, A was married to C. B only served in his cabinet.’

Now, that’s a good thing, and I always appreciate the correction, at least until I start scrolling through the comments and I realize that the next 200 comments are saying the exact same thing!

Why do people write comments that a thousand other people already submitted? Some people argue that most of those comments come from bots, and if you click on the names, you will notice that their accounts are mere days old.

Others believe that real humans are writing that repetitive and unimaginative garbage to get clicks. They know that every ‘Who’s listening in 202-?’ will get at least 2000 likes, and it gives them some validation to receive that kind of feedback.

I think some people are simply that exhausting. Or maybe they are truly too lazy to read the pre-existing comments before leaving their own comment, in which case, stop! Admittedly, this is a personal pet peeve.

The YouTubers in question don’t care how repetitive you are. They want to accumulate as many comments as possible. But for the sake of the internet’s collective sanity, think before you write. Better yet, read what came before, and then decide whether your comment is even necessary.

mbjjnr8@gmail.com

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