Mumbai: Actor Anupam Kher in a dejected tweet on Wednesday wondered the cause of increased toxicity on social media these days. He wrote, “I do try to ignore the negativity & use of abusive language on #SocialMedia but sometimes it is difficult. Isn’t it the fault of individual’s horrible behaviour rather than platforms? Please do enlighten me. Your responses will help me understand.”
Explaining about the intentions behind his widely seen tweet in a conversation with CNN-News18’s Zakka Jacob. Kher said, “I was not angry, but I was simply wondering. Since sometime, I have discovered that there is a certain set of people whose only work is to abuse you or troll you. There are factories like set up to do such things.”
He added, “It’s happening at all levels—social, political. Some are doing it only for the sake of getting noticed.”
“It wasn’t happening on Instagram. I used to love reading messages sent to me. During the lockdown, the only thing you want to spread is a certain kind of positivity and happiness. And then I started noticing that there is so much of negativity and abusing on Instagram as well. These people would abuse everyone from your parents to your kids.”
Kher believes an individual’s abusive temperament is at the fault and the platform has nothing to do with such behavioral issues.
“There was this debate about a platform not being good, but I was wondering if it’s the people! Suppose somebody comes on your channel and abuses someone, that doesn’t mean the channel is wrong. It’s the problem of the individual. Even in schools, there used to be bullies. Now, these unidentified people have gotten the platform. These people don’t have many posts or followers,” added the actor.
“There are some people with a great sense of humour and with so much talent. For me, it’s a great medium to promote my books and plays. And there is so much to learn, but over time, there are certain groups who are using social media for bad things. They have their own agenda,” concluded the actor.