By Anil Merani: Having been raised in an era where personal matters were kept private, I find it intriguing how today’s social media culture has normalized doing laundry in public.
Yet another example of this is the recent MTV Splitsvilla 15 contestants Digvijay Singh Rathee and Unaati Tomar spat.
Sparks flew between the couple in the above show, but they broke up when the former entered Big Boss. He called himself single, and she was further felt slighted by his PR team.
Digvijay fired the first salvo in the latest round, public ally accusing her of infidelity, and she returned fire, saying he slept with several women.
Since then, it has become a free-for-all on social media.
I don’t want to comment on the nitty-gritty of the issue, but I want to focus on the broader social trend.
Let’s face it: we love salacious tea, especially when it peaks in the bedroom (Voyeurism 101). We love it when our fav falls from grace, sadistic pleasure you see
And now we have celebs ready to rant at the drop of a hat. They understand attention is the new currency, and they need to milk their 15 seconds of fame as much as possible.
Any talk of break-up or hookup gets immediate traction. Rival fandoms continue the battle for you. You sit back with popcorn.
Sometimes, the same couple get back together. Do their fans feel cheated?
And the best part is that today, courtesy of SM, you don’t need enough media. Your IG or X account is enough. If it is saucy enough, the media will carry it. You say what you want and not more.
Some older folk might ask why talk about birds and bees? But
Today, Gen Z is kosher talking about sex.
One of the most significant changes brought about by social media is the emergence of a new class of celebrities or reality show stars. Unlike traditional TV or film stars, they don’t have an image to protect, and this freedom allows them to cater to the lowest common denominator for likes without fear of backlash.
Ironically, millions of ordinary youngsters see themselves in SM stars. They also want to live a fast and loose life but can’t; hence, when they see someone doing the same, they identify.
Also, most young kids knowingly or unknowingly accept Alpha male behaviour, and when someone speaks their lingo in a brash way, they hop on.
But they often forget that many celebs get paid to propagate a particular cause.
Loose talk, particularly involving sexual innuendo, tends to resonate more in India, where there is a significant youth population. However, our society remains quite traditional, and boys and girls cannot mix publicly.
Therefore, social media is the most effective way to communicate discreetly. With millions of users as a potential audience, discussing topics related to sex can be an easy way to capture and maintain their attention.
PS: In the ensuing melee, Digvijay’s number got leaked. He will get a lot of abusive calls and messages from Unnati stans. Ideally, you should respect privacy, but this is how the cookies crumble: once you ride the SM tiger, everything is fair game.