On days that I am feeling down about myself, those comments can really hurt. The number of positive comments always outweighs the negative ones, but somehow that doesn’t matter. I can’t help but focus on the negative comments, and I think that’s a problem many of us have. It only takes one nasty dig to completely destroy your confidence, and no number of supportive comments can alleviate that pain.
Every set of pictures of me brings with it comments that I am fat, worthless and disgusting. Not that long ago, I was papped doing the supermarket shop while on holiday in Ibiza. I hadn’t brushed my hair, and had just grabbed Charley’s shorts to wear on the way out the door. It was an overcast morning, so it felt like a good opportunity to do some shopping. It just seems crazy to me that this was actually newsworthy. Comments included: ‘The size of those legs.
I could go on. This is not just one or two people; there were over 600 comments, sitting under pictures of me buying groceries on holiday – pictures that I hadn’t asked anyone to take. I feel like we need to change the context in which we consume media, because the current system just encourages clickbait – and the more people look, the more these kinds of stories will appear. Cruelty feels like a key part of celebrity culture, and all people in the public eye, including female politicians, seem to face some sort of abuse as part of their everyday lives and are expected to just suck it up. And people believe so much of what they read.
I think we can all play a small part in this change. Before you post on social media or write something in the comments under an article, it is always worth thinking: ‘Is it true? Is it necessary to write this? Is it kind?’ I would love to see tougher obligations from social media platforms, and news articles with the comments switched off.