i think everyone is getting way too comfy being mean online

I think we have gotten wayyyyy too comfortable being mean to strangers online and disguising it as having an opinion, and before somebody does the whole “well if you post publicly people are allowed to comment” thing, yes obviously, congrafuckinglations on understanding how a comment section works, I am talking about the fact that some of you seem genuinely excited when a random woman gives you an opportunity to ruin her afternoon.

And I am not talking about somebody doing something genuinely horrible and people calling it out, that is completely different, I mean somebody posts their wedding and suddenly 40,000 strangers are discussing how cheap it looks, somebody shows their apartment and everyone decides she has terrible taste, somebody gets dressed and people start doing forensic analysis on her body, somebody posts herself dancing and suddenly the comments are acting like she personally ruined dancing. Half the time the person did not even do anything, she just existed slightly too confidently, and apparently that is enough.

“well she posted it online” okay???

I hate the idea that posting yourself publicly means you have somehow signed a consent form allowing everyone to say literally anything about you. Obviously people CAN, that is not what I am arguing. You can also walk up to somebody in Target and tell them their outfit looks terrible, there is no invisible force field physically stopping you from doing that either, most of us just understand that it would be fucking weird.

But put a screen between people and suddenly basic social instincts evaporate. You will see a girl post something like “look at the dress I picked for my birthday!!!” clearly excited about it, and somebody in the comments will be like “this is actually so unflattering on your body type.” Okay. Did she ask? No genuinely, did she call you personally and say please analyze my torso because I cannot make decisions without guidance from @taylorswife473? Because otherwise why are we doing this.

And then somebody always responds with “people are so sensitive nowadays,” and maybe, sure, but maybe you are also just rude. Both are possibilities.

cringe culture has done irreversible damage to some of you

I genuinely think part of this comes from everyone becoming terrified of being cringe. Nobody wants to care too much, nobody wants to look too excited, nobody wants to be caught enjoying something incorrectly, and the safest position becomes standing outside of everything making fun of the people who are actually participating.

Someone has a themed birthday party? Cringe. Someone makes friendship bracelets? Cringe. Someone gets extremely excited about Disney? Cringe. Someone has a wedding that is super dramatic and exactly what she wanted? Cringe. Someone writes a blog in the year 2026 and talks about her feelings to strangers online? Okay leave me out of this one.

But seriously, there is something so boring about making detachment your entire personality. I would rather be around somebody who gets way too excited about something than somebody whose entire identity is making sure everyone knows they are above everything. At least the first person is having fun.

women especially cannot do SHIT peacefully online

And obviously I am going to make this about women because have you seen the internet. A woman cannot age correctly, dress correctly, be thin correctly, fat correctly, sexy correctly, modest correctly, married correctly, single correctly, have children correctly, not have children correctly, decorate her house correctly, spend money correctly, save money correctly, speak correctly, be confident correctly, be insecure correctly.

There will be a committee.

I have seen women post wedding dresses they clearly LOVE and immediately get comments about their bodies, their makeup, their venue, their ring, how much the wedding probably cost, whether the marriage will last, and some random person named Barbara deciding she personally would have chosen a different neckline. Barbara nobody invited you.

And weddings might be the best example because people get extremely comfortable being cruel when they think somebody has spent “too much” money or is being “too extra,” and it is like okay then do not have that wedding. That is the beautiful part. You do not have to attend.

the dogpile is what really freaks me out

One mean comment is one thing, but what genuinely freaks me out is watching thousands of people pile onto one random person because the algorithm has decided today is her day. You open the comments and everyone is making the same joke again and again and again, and somehow nobody stops to think that there is an actual person receiving all of these notifications.

I think people see a viral post and stop seeing the person as a person. She becomes Content, and Content apparently does not have feelings. Imagine waking up, opening your phone, and discovering 80,000 people have collectively decided they hate the way you chew. I would throw my phone into Lake Eola.

And sometimes the original “crime” is so small that it feels insane to even call it a controversy. Someone was annoying, someone made a weird facial expression, someone said something slightly awkward, someone dressed in a way people did not like, and now strangers are finding their other accounts, commenting on old photos, looking up family members, turning somebody being mildly cringe into a full investigative journalism project. Girl GO OUTSIDE. We have lost the plot.

and yes I talk shit, obviously

I am not going to sit here pretending I have never talked shit because have you MET this blog. I gossip, I judge, I have opinions, I have absolutely sent a screenshot to jasmine with “girl…” and then proceeded to discuss it for twenty minutes.

That is human thank you

But I also think there is a difference between talking privately with your friends about something and intentionally making sure the person sees how much you hate them. Not every thought needs delivery confirmation.

Sometimes I see something online and think wow that is absolutely hideous, and then you know what I do? I continue scrolling.

A lost art….

I think sincerity needs a comeback

I think I would rather be a little embarrassing than cruel. I want people to have ugly themed parties and questionable hobbies and insane fandom interests and homes decorated exactly how they like them and outfits that make absolutely no sense to me.

I want people to care too much. I want people to make things. I want people to post something and clearly think they look amazing even if I personally would not wear it.

The alternative is an internet where everybody is so terrified of being laughed at that they all slowly become the same person, and honestly I think we are already halfway there. Same faces, same apartments, same captions, same jokes, same acceptable interests.

How fucking boring.

Maybe we would all be a little happier online if we stopped treating strangers like characters created specifically for our entertainment. You can dislike something without humiliating the person who likes it, you can think someone is annoying without needing them to know, you can see an ugly dress and simply survive the experience.

I believe in you.

And if somebody is happily doing something harmless that makes you cringe so badly you feel physically compelled to ruin their day, maybe they are not actually the embarrassing person in that interaction.

Anyway, I am off to continue posting my thoughts publicly despite everything I just said, which feels extremely wise and safe.

xoxo,

Sunday Girl