Tanyel Gumushan: social media

Seed Creativity: Motion to Social

14:44

Why is it so popular to find joy in One Direction fan's misery?

08:02

I’m sure a lot of you reading this will already be aware of the rumours that flew regarding a certain boy band over the past 48 hours.

On Sunday night a very trusted (debatable) source, also known as The Sun, released a story hinting at the possible demise of One Direction. The UK’s biggest X Factor super group were said to be going in separate ways to pursue solo projects, following the departure of Zayn Malik back in March.

Cue standard ‘more than one direction’ jokes. Really? Yawn.

Of course, the internet reacted to the news, with overused play on words to express their joy of the split. At this point remember, it was still a rumour, but that was enough.

Numerous news outlets got hold of the tail, elaborated it and sent it out further. Features were even made making an example of fan reactions, a source of comedy.

Confusion flew and conclusions jumped to. Much to social media’s enjoyment, the main source of traffic.

Having since spoken out and confirmed time apart, though not a split, the question still has to be asked. Why is it so popular to find joy in One Direction fan’s misery?

There’s no denying the negative, embarrassing even, personas attached to the stereotypical ‘Directioner’. Fans of the group are thought to be pre-pubescent, worshipping, crazy, obsessive, over imaginative and pathetic.

This image is built from trolls online who emphasise everything to say the least, as well as unfair, biased reflections in the media.

Those characteristics may belong to some fans, but not to all.

There’s a guy walking around with fifteen Miley Cyrus tattoos, but are all ‘Smilers’ obsessed?

Somebody grabbed Taylor Swift’s leg whilst she was performing, but are all ‘Swifties’ crazy?

A girl once threw an iPhone at Ed Sheeran just so he’d ring her real phone to try and give it back, but are all ‘Sheerios’ dramatic?

There’s somebody who actually changed her name to ‘Mrs. Kanye Resa West’.

Thousands of people express their emotion towards their favourite band reportedly breaking up, but all ‘Directioners’ are weird? Pathetic? Hilarious?

One Direction fans by far have the most negative name. I’m not here to defend all fans, as one myself I know that sometimes individuals can seem crazed, that the attraction may not be understood. But surely this applies in all fandoms?

So why is it cool and popular to hate on One Direction fans?

Twitter blew up following the released statement from a ‘1D source’ who could be anybody, really. They said that the boys were planning to take a break for ‘at least a year’, though mentioned nothing about a split. Of course, this had to be interpreted into whatever would generate enough traffic.

Cue headlines.

‘1D SET TO SPLIT AFTER FIFTH ALBUM.’

‘TICKETS SOAR IN PRICE FOR ONE DIRECTION’S LAST TOUR’

‘ALL BOYBANDS MUST DIE’ really?

Cue One Direction fans taking to Twitter to express their despair.

Twitter is used by millions of people, to tell us they’re at Turtle Bay having 2 for 1 cocktails. To let us know their thoughts about #MICLA or to tell the world how excited they are for ‘Leeds *beer emoji*’. It’s considered perfectly acceptable for users to rant about flat mates, take the piss out of people on The Lad Bible or throw some shade at their ex.

But for a fan to tweet about disappointment that their favourite band are breaking up? Unbearable. How dare they.

Many bands have split, and artists have quit music, this of course sparks emotions in their fan base. Regardless of whether it’s a mainstream artist, or the scale of their success, somebody somewhere will be saddened by the news.

Which is understandable as the music that we listen to and the people that made it, shapes us as people. No matter how ‘poppy’ or how ‘commercial’ you may think it is, music has power.

One Direction have power. They have been stable figures in popular culture for the past five years. Like it or lump it.

If the news of a split made you happy because you don’t like their music, then fine. If One Direction splitting up didn’t bother you, then fine. How has your day been affected?

There’d be no need to target the fans.

Don’t ridicule them. Don’t twist their words. You paid no attention to them before, so why start trolling now? This is directed to everybody who sent laughing emojis back, who tweeted about their joy at the sadness, who used the word ‘pathetic’ unfairly.

To the people who made memes, who thanked God as though One Direction were a disease and a split would be a blessing. To the people who shopped over dramatic reactions to make fans seem crazy. Who basically took joy in other people’s misery. Other fandoms even tried to trend '#onedirectionisbreakingupparty' and got annoyed when One Direction fans went along with it and tried to lighten the mood. There's no way of winning.

This didn’t happen with the split of My Chemical Romance, or Oasis. Crystal Castles’s fans were not targeted. How about Busted, even? Were they a media joke?

How about the disappointment when a footballer transfers teams? Or when an actor doesn’t want to carry on in a movie franchise? Is that okay to express sadness about?

Point is, bands and groups aren’t contracted to stay together forever. Nor should they have to. Though that’s not to say that the affect won’t have repercussions on their fans. Which is just a statement of how influential these people are.

With the impact of social media on our modern life, it’s easy for stories to get blown out of proportion. It’s easy to speak out, and it’s easy to add fuel to fire.

So while rumours of One Direction splitting up may have made your day even better, or the absolute worst. It’s important to look after each other and ask yourself, if your favourite band were splitting up, how would you want to be treated?

delete

What's the big deal with...deleting people on Facebook?

09:17

Well, since like the beginning of social media there’s been a big deal made when you deleted somebody from social media. But the question is, WHY?

I’m not afraid to admit that I have removed people from my Facebook friends list, though never without motive. It doesn’t even matter how big or small this motive may be, if you have one then get rid.

For me, Facebook is a way to keep in touch with people that I want to keep in touch with. There are my actual friends, people from school, distant relatives that share a quote that a minion couldn’t even think yet alone say...

Basically only people I’d say hello to if they walked my way.

Without going into too many details, I’m not ashamed to admit that I have deleted several guys that I’ve dated. It doesn’t matter that one I dated for two weeks, and another for six months. It also doesn’t matter that one hurt me more than the other.

The point became that I didn’t want anything else to do with them, so why would I be interested in seeing their shares of the ‘LAD bible’ or the footie scores?

I’m aware that this may seem pathetic. That it might look as though I am overdramatic, silly, childish, rude even...

Mentioning it to people, I’m met with laughs sometimes. Spluttered ‘why!?’s and even exasperated sighs.

But really, I’m just not a fan of falling for the temptation of checking walls, new friendships and photo likes. Really, I just don’t want to see.

Perhaps it’s because I do care, and am jealous. Perhaps it’s because it really isn’t worth the hassle.

Similarly, I’ve removed people that I went to school with. If they were never particularly pleasant when I knew them, why did I care that they’d passed their driving tests?

I enjoy positivity, and that counts for Facebook too. I don’t want to subconsciously filter what I post, or post for a reaction. With only friends on Facebook, I don’t have to.

It’s all well and good if you fancy a nosy, and everybody is different. It’s just time to stop shaming individual decisions, each delete is a different story!

So if somebody’s bringing your newsfeed down, feel no shame in removing. If you’re worried, just hide them from your feed. It’s your profile.

advice

Dealing with...social media jealousy

08:49

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPz12bdmG4STNCcXV56369xDFdCr-WQ1_bgJUOjy0TXYWLYkcJb1XXItsA90ipkpjosMSORCcg6BB4z8uzkmYnkB57HlrSLI4_2dT4etEa5Em2oivqamJVFQRu2OxWW7CsYiZGMSpUdms/s320/facebook.png

Okay, I’m not the only person in the world to have a green eyed monster on my back. I know this. We all know this. And, we’re all guilty.

But, are we actually guilty? I mean, it’s a natural emotion. So why do we all feel so damn bad about it every time we feel jealous?

Recently I’ve noticed that I feel it perhaps a bit too much however. Strangely, it’s all towards people that I don’t even know.

We are the first generation of the digital age. We tweet, insta and post everything. We use our smartphones purely to narrate and show off. A simple cinema trip has turned into a Facebook check in, an Instagram of a Tango Iced Blast, a 100 second Snapchat story and a brief review in a tweet.

As a result we’ve created a whole new word just to define it. FOMO. Fear. Of. Missing. Out. Anxiety and jealousy triggered by social media posts. The unbearable thought of somebody having, or doing, something that you aren't.

I admit it.

I get jealous when I scroll down Instagram and see a photo of pancakes without a shadow.

Or, a new MAC lipstick.

Or, a shot from an airplane window.

(If you have Instagram then you’ll know that it’s almost impossible to avoid these.)

I get jealous when somebody uploads a killer selfie, wearing the dress that I wanted but didn’t have the confidence to pull off. Or if somebody is being shown online signs of affection.

It gets worse around this time of year, when people are at festivals or on holiday and I am here.

I have spent the past two months working full time in a restaurant, trying to squeeze in some freelance work, trying to cut out carbs and trying to get six hours sleep at night.

Am I bitter? Am I unappreciative? Or is this perfectly normal?

I have my health, I have a summer job, I have my place at university to return to in September. Heck, I have a wardrobe of clothes, make up, shoes. I have a family. Friends. My cat. A Netflix subscription. I have strong ideas of what I want from the future and evidence that I have worked for it.

Why do I feel so down in the dumps and jealous? Why do I keep picking up my phone to torture myself further with heartbroken ‘likes’.

Though the strange thing is, we don’t look at it the other way.

We don’t know the full story of anybody we are jealous of. We know their username and their filter.

Similarly, we don’t know who is feeling jealousy towards us. Chances are, somebody is. Honestly, that's probably our biggest motive of updating social media. To boast?

Because we all have something that somebody else hasn’t got.

Like we can’t experience happiness without sadness, perhaps we can’t feel appreciative without jealousy.

Though let’s vow next time to perhaps try these out?

How to kick social media jealousy in the ass

1. Make a list of all the great things you have. Yes, actually use a pen.

2. Make a list of all the great qualities and achievements that you have. Tell yourself these.

3. Compliment people, even if you are jealous, play nice. Be joyous, you’d expect the same back, and you’ll feel better for doing so.

4. Give it ten minutes. Ever get that overwhelming surge of jealousy? Take ten, distract yourself, let it pass. It isn’t the end of the world.

5. Take more than ten, take a day or a week without social media. Do something fun, and then TALK about it to somebody without posting it up.

6. Wonder why you’re jealous in the first place, get your mind straight and it’ll work better for you.

7. Stop thinking of them, and start thinking of you. Jealous of an opportunity? Seek one for yourself. Jealous of a selfie? Try out a new hair do.

8. Try not to worry about the people you don’t know, focus on those that you do. Talk to them.

9. Don’t actively seek jealousy to annoy yourself. Ignore posts, and try not to stalk.

10. Remember, social media is not real life. Every coin has two sides.

You are more than your artisan coffee.

Seed Creativity: Motion to Social

Why is it so popular to find joy in One Direction fan's misery?

What's the big deal with...deleting people on Facebook?

Dealing with...social media jealousy

Pages

Other media

Stay in touch?

Blog Archive

What's popular?

Labels