These days, meme culture is flourishing on social media. If you are a well-known person and, god forbid, you to do or say something which doesn’t match the standards of these memers, you can be all over the internet with a picture of yours and a caption ‘new meme material’. Since it’s a source of entertainment for all the followers, the consequences of such trolls are hardly a matter of concern.
What instigated me to think about the absurdity and hypocrisy of this culture was the case of suicide of Sushant Singh Rajput. A movement has started against nepotism because according to the virtual world, this suicide was the result of nepotism. A sudden hatred has emerged out of the blue against some celebrities. I wonder if these members ever give a thought to what they are posting or commenting on. If you think a family member of yours is not going the right way, your priority would you be bringing them on the right track or abusing them on an open platform?
The hypocrisy lies in the fact that disturbance of the mental health of one celebrity caused so much hue and cries that in reaction to that, social media is bent upon destroying the mental health of others. No one considered the consequences of trolling Anant Ambani due to his speech issues or Neha Dhupia on her comments on feminism so much so that this trolling didn’t just limit itself to her account but to her whole family including a 2-year-old daughter.
When it comes to shredding someone to pieces, there is no limit. In our daily lives, we make mistakes at every other step, and its completely natural for a human to do that. Then why do we, as the flag bearers or followers of meme culture, forget the fact that even a renowned celebrity is a human? Standing up against what is wrong is one thing and defaming or abusing the wrongdoer is another which is completely unethical. Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease with more than 264 million people of all ages suffering from depression. Do you think your source of entertainment is worth a million of increase in that tally?