The boycotting or 'cancel' culture has become quite a common thing on social media and unfortunately, it rarely ever has to do with anything of significance. If you have ever participated in this online charade, please read on.
Recently, Twitter witnessed not one but two topics that are trending on the micro-blogging website which 'demand' people to boycott Zomato and Bingo, for separate reasons, of course.
While Zomato is under fire for commenting on the fact that they do not want Republic TV to display its advertisements, Bingo's latest Television ad has somehow offended those who think it makes fun of the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's likes.
Two things that firmly need to be stressed upon here - Zomato as a company can choose which platforms to use for its advertisements; Bingo's ad, starring Ranveer Singh talking about Science, is not even remotely related to SSR.
However, people see what they want to see, therefore it did not take too long for both Zomato and Bingo to become enemies of the dear people on social media, especially Twitter.
Which brings us to the question of the hour - How unhealthy is the #Boycott circus?
Turns out, quite a lot.
Wanting to boycott something - a product, a company, or even a person comes from a place of disagreement. However, one needs to realise that just because YOU disagree with an idea or a thought, does not necessarily mean EVERYONE has to do the same.
It is perfectly fine and rightful to express your views, whether they are in favour of something or against it. What is not okay is when people try to shove down the same opinion down other people's throats. If you have ever tried to counter one of these 'boycott' trends, you would know how it is.
The boycotting culture has made people perpetually angry. If someone decides not to participate or boycott something that has left people feeling enraged, the person themselves are placed on the receiving end of hate from the others.
It is basically, join the herd or get hated upon, the choice is yours.
It also takes away a significant amount of attention from things that actually deserve your time like maybe the pandemic? Or the crimes that take place in this country on a day to day basis?
This is not the first time people have demanded others to boycott something - Tanishq was 'boycotted' due to releasing an advertisement which showed harmony between Muslims and Hindus, #BoycottTikTok had taken over when YouTuber CarryMinati had got into a feud with users of the video-creating app, and things have gotten to the point that #BoycottTwitter was also trending on TWITTER.
Disagreement towards an issue and being plain spiteful over personal choices are completely two different things. Encouraging this trend can be extremely toxic as well as dangerous as people can use social media to destroy anything and everything they don't agree with.
It is a responsibility and privilege to be able to express your thoughts on broad platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. Misusing this power should be condemned and the credibility of these 'boycott' trends need to be tested.?
Let's behave responsibly.