Insta Diving: A Reflection On Comment Culture

Clarissa Tan

Hey there, it’s quarantine speaking. You bored yet? Let’s go on Instagram and get caught up on what’s happening with everyone else. But wait… it’s already been an hour, and I don’t even know this girl whose page I’ve been stalking.

Does this sound familiar? Ever since corona has swiftly made its way through the nation, we’ve been stuck inside all summer (if you’re a responsible, social-distancing human being), and the majority of our days are spent the same. This probably means that you, just like me, have turned to social media to pass the hours by. It’s the common teenager’s life now - staying up to ungodly hours of the night, and aimlessly scrolling until we finally fall asleep. With said pandemic, engagement levels on Instagram have grown almost 70%. Now that everyone is online, it seems as if we eat, sleep, and breathe the virtual world. For me, it all feels quite funny. Back in March, social media was simply a way for me to connect with friends, and nothing more. That is, until the Black Lives Matter movement made its way to the nationwide platform. 

Now, I’m not going to get deep into the movement itself, as I’m sure you are somewhat familiar with it already. What specifically intrigued me was that Black Lives Matter brought attention not only to largely overlooked racial inequalities, but it also revealed the true tendencies of some certain netizens. The 2020 social justice movements seem to have magnified the divide between beliefs and groups, and displayed these differences for each other to see. However, it is incredibly important to have these discussions and realize that our current situation is ugly. The movement has certainly forced us to confront reality, no matter how painful it might be.

Ok, now onto the Instagram app itself. Despite posts being the supposed “main feature”, what truly stood out to me was the comments section. Quarantine-scrolling has taught me that this is where the real shit goes down; the way people interact with each other in the comments speaks astronomical volumes. This is the first place I go whenever someone shares a post on their story, because this is also the place where everything is revealed. 9/10 times when I read the comments, I am disappointed, astonished, and absolutely disgusted by the pure amount of ignorance, racism, and sexism. Reading them makes me feel like I’m losing IQ points, yet I let myself get drawn in. I keep clicking “see more”, reading the replies in depth, and scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. This quarantine obsession has led me to reflect and wonder, how can people say such hateful and offensive things? 

“Why do we all act like Black people don’t get treated well? There are also white, Mexican, Chinese, and other races not getting treated well.”

“You’re not as marginalized as you claim, I’ve faced problems much worse than you. I haven’t had it easy either, you know.”

“That’s no big deal at all. In my country, we go through this stuff every single day. I scoff when I hear Europeans complaining about such issues.”

As you may have noticed from the examples above, a certain trend that has emerged is the competition between oppressed groups. It is quite surprising how common this is, at least in the posts I have seen, where people try to invalidate others’ experiences in comparison to another, or debate on “who has it worse.” Wikipedia calls it the oppression olympics. As much as we hate to admit it, most of us have internalized this game of oppression, even if we don’t realize it. Life is competitive, yes, but there is no need for these remarks. The only effect created by such comments is an environment of hate, and one that fuels ignorance. How can one possibly speak over another’s encounters when they haven’t faced it themselves, or assume that they know anything about the struggles of a certain group of people?

All this goes to say, we can glimpse a lot about others nowadays based off of their commenting patterns. Comments are where people are the most honest, hidden behind a protected username on the screen, hunched over the keyboard, typing their thoughts. It is where they have heated online debates, trying to “out-argue” each other for nothing in particular. This problem has played out not only online, but in our everyday lives. Even if you don’t think it affects you, it does. Right now, just think… when have you faced something that made you feel invalidated or worthless? Or, when have you made someone else feel worthless? Regardless of which side of the coin you are on, you will always be involved. It just comes down to how you are involved. 

As I realized all of this over the course of summer break, it changed my mindset on the way I approached life. Previously, I would have never shared a post to my story, since it seemed like just a read for myself. I didn’t think people would care enough to click, so why should I? But after diving deep into the comments section, I have begun to educate myself, and others, on the matter. To have the other perspective is to have a whole new basket of information, one that I can unpack. Analyzing was key, as it helped me realize what type of person I wanted to be. While some decided to volunteer in the community or develop their hobbies, others chose to sit at home and type hateful comments to make themselves feel engaged in quarantine. So if you’re on a platform, what is your purpose? In such an era of information, technology, and movements, I would strongly encourage you to consider how you fit in, and most importantly, how you contribute.