Is the Internet Getting Meaner?

The way people talk about very minor celebrities and critique their every action would absolutely destroy any normal person. Before you write anything online, consider — has someone else already said? Did they maybe say it better? Are you actually adding to a conversation? Yeah, those are a lot of questions to think about.

But especially white people like myself, and especially young people who may not have learned the full weight of empathy and emotional maturity, need to think before we post. So, take it from an older millennial — you’re going to make big mistakes that you regret, you’re not always going to say the right thing, and god help you if you blow up enough to make an income at the entertainment industry.

Accept that microcelebrities and celebrities are going to be problematic or just do things that you don’t like — and make room to just not like something without having to justify it on a moral basis.

Oh, and learn the difference between personal nitpicks, like “I don’t like the way she pauses between sentences, or the way they’re incredibly cringey” and actual issues, like, “okay, that was racist, that’s not okay.” Of course, there’s overlap here — fandoms can be incredibly fragile about critiques of their faves — but delivery…