too much sensitivity
source: Amir El-Behar

One of the best things about living in the era of social media is that we have access to everything.

We have the chance to know more about other cultures and our own too. Social media also helped in propelling terms like “cyber-bullying” and “ableism” into the light.

It helped us understand ways we might have been insensitive in the past, effectively pushing us to change them. However, in this day and age, are the people still simply parroting what they hear?

The Public Thinks “Woke” Is A Trend

Part of what social media helped us with is understanding bad behavior. Most people knew what discrimination and racism are, but now we know more.

We’re aware, for instance, that there is a specific kind of discrimination against mentally ill people, which is starkly different from the discrimination people with physical disabilities face.

This is a change we can’t deny is positive, but we need to understand that some people piggyback off this positive change by repeating facts that aren’t, well, fact-based.

Why? So, they can look like good, “woke” people online.

princess bride gif

You may think this is blatantly untrue or just an exaggeration. People cannot be actually like this, right?

You might want to avoid looking now. Not only is this happening, but people are also redefining what bullying is, in the spirit of fake woke-ness.

So, What Is It That We’re Considering Bullying Now?

New Bullying, according to several people online, is just stating your opinion. Yes, you read it right.

Of course, we don’t mean “opinions” that make fun of people for things they can’t or won’t be able to easily change. That is actual bullying.

What we’re talking about is any opinion that starts with “personally, I don’t like–“.

You wouldn’t think a person should tell you you’re a bully for stating a personal opinion, but this is exactly what happened with Nada Magdy, who shared her opinion on a post in a women’s only Facebook group.

Nada Magdy post

Whether you find someone’s opinion appealing or not, you shouldn’t label them a bully just because you don’t agree with them. Invalidating an opinion for invalid reasons can be, ironically enough, filed under a form of bullying.

This poses an important question, though. Are we really living in a time when people are way too sensitive to allow others their own opinions?

We hope the answer can be no, but sadly, we’re all a part of this society and we’ve all been on social media at one point or another.

Just try to legitimately criticize an actor everyone has agreed they love and wait five seconds before you get labelled petty and jealous and judgmental. Guess what? Sometimes you just don’t like certain people and never will. And it’s perfectly okay.

This is not to condemn sensitivity, which is kind of what makes us human, but rather to condemn people using it as a means to shut down things they don’t want to hear.

Instead of calling someone a bully for, you know, having a personality and an opinion, just agree to disagree.

If you really can’t hold it back, how about trying to start a healthy debate? That’s how civilization works.