TikTok was banned in the United States on Jan. 18, 2025. The ban lasted for approximately 12 hours before the app was restored for a span of 75 days by Donald Trump. Of course, being impatient, needing storage, and having little faith in Trump (who originally proposed the TikTok ban in 2020), decided to delete the app.
Approximately 30 minutes after I deleted TikTok, people who still had the app were greeted with a notification that TikTok was back for a period of time, but it was not possible for me to download it on the app store. So, sadly, I turned to Instagram. Let me tell you, I don’t think I’ve seen such vile comment sections in my life.
What stands out to me most is the lack of empathy users have for others. Social media has normalized this in various ways. First, seeing cruel people succeed sends out a dangerous message; you don’t have to be kind to others to achieve your goals, whether they are to become the president or receive a few likes for posting a nasty comment on Instagram.
A benefit social media provides to people seeking clout and validation through hate comments is that they post them while maintaining anonymity. People tend to be bolder when they don’t outwardly see the consequences their words have on others, which is also evident in emotionally charged conversations had over text. Without seeing someone’s face it’s easy to dehumanize them, and henceforth more difficult to empathize with them.
It is especially easy to dehumanize celebrities and public figures, and it often stems from low self-esteem and jealousy. It is a relentless cycle where no one gets to win. When a conventionally attractive and popular woman posts a bikini picture of herself on Instagram, it often leads viewers to criticize her and compare themselves to her. As a result, she will likely receive several comments dragging her down, leading to the development of new insecurities she may have never had before.
It has become so normalized to tell people thoughts that belong in the darkest corners of the mind. When we see comments that affirm these thoughts, it creates the illusion that there is no problem with our ways of thinking.
Many hate comments also become trends. The number of times I’ve seen “womp womp” and “cry about it” commented on a devastating post is incredibly concerning. People resort to these types of messages when they can’t think of anything better to say and make no effort to understand where the other person is coming from.
This transitions into my next point; we live in a divided world, and social media amplifies this. One key example of this is found in politics. Fake or misleading news that evokes strong emotions leads individuals to take their frustration out on people with opposing beliefs. It’s all too common for individuals to believe the first thing they see on social media without thinking critically and conducting research to fact check that information.
I think the most important thing to note here is that many people criticize the things they don’t understand and make no effort to. This applies to the many minority groups who are scapegoated to blame for societal flaws. For example, people love to comment that teachers are “grooming kids” and “turning them gay” the moment they see a post with a pride flag in a classroom, as opposed to considering that’s the teachers’ way of creating a safe space for students to feel comfortable being who they are. Commentors ignore the fact that grooming is a real problem with a completely different definition and fall into a problematic way of thinking by jumping to easy conclusions which divides us to a dangerous extent.
Overall, many people are so focused on making others understand them that they fail to see the perspective of the person on the other side. If empathy can’t go both ways, it is not empathy.
Overconsumption of negativity on social media can seep into our lives and darken our moods, desensitizing us to upsetting comments and criticism and eroding our emotional intelligence, making it more difficult to connect with others. Empathy is an essential quality to understanding our complex world and the people who inhabit it, so make sure to take breaks from social media. But maybe don’t delete TikTok…