Trolling in the virtual world is almost a given. Anyone who is active on any social media platform has been subject to trolling at some point or another. But have you experienced trolling by real people in your daily world?
I write on food and travel. Food particularly is a very subjective topic. Opinions vary ... While many of my followers, who are mostly my friends and family, relate to my taste and hence appreciate my opinion, there are those who don't. And that is fine. Except when they want to reach out to either tell me that I am wrong or (worse) try to convince me to agree with them. And it is this last point that I really have a problem with.
Being quite an opinionated individual myself, I appreciate others to be clear about their opinions as well, whether they agree with me or not. After all, we can't think alike on all topics. In fact, I do like to hear out opposing views as that broadens my own mindset. Whether I change my opinion thereafter is a separate matter.
But I find that many people don't simply agree to disagree. Either one agrees with them or the other is wrong! A case in point is when I went with a bunch of friends for a music concert. Now this one person in the group decided that she didn't like the singer. So be it! I quite enjoyed the performance. More than anything, it was meant to be a relaxed evening out with my friends and not a review for which one had to dissect the nuances of the singer. But what irked me is when the concerned person tried to convince me that the singer was actually quite bad. Well, here I am enjoying myself, why should I be subject to someone else's unsolicited negative opinion?! Do we need to necessarily think alike to be part of the tribe?
And it's the same attitude that reflects in today's highly polarising politics. People strongly support or oppose certain political parties. But being a democracy, and voting being a highly secretive process, everyone is entitled to their opinion and hence their right to choose. Why must one try to convince the other? A genuine vote comes from free will. Enjoyment of any of the fine or performing arts is an individual's prerogative. One may or may not enjoy something but do we really need to influence people around us to fall in line with our perception.
Just something to think about..
I write on food and travel. Food particularly is a very subjective topic. Opinions vary ... While many of my followers, who are mostly my friends and family, relate to my taste and hence appreciate my opinion, there are those who don't. And that is fine. Except when they want to reach out to either tell me that I am wrong or (worse) try to convince me to agree with them. And it is this last point that I really have a problem with.
Being quite an opinionated individual myself, I appreciate others to be clear about their opinions as well, whether they agree with me or not. After all, we can't think alike on all topics. In fact, I do like to hear out opposing views as that broadens my own mindset. Whether I change my opinion thereafter is a separate matter.
But I find that many people don't simply agree to disagree. Either one agrees with them or the other is wrong! A case in point is when I went with a bunch of friends for a music concert. Now this one person in the group decided that she didn't like the singer. So be it! I quite enjoyed the performance. More than anything, it was meant to be a relaxed evening out with my friends and not a review for which one had to dissect the nuances of the singer. But what irked me is when the concerned person tried to convince me that the singer was actually quite bad. Well, here I am enjoying myself, why should I be subject to someone else's unsolicited negative opinion?! Do we need to necessarily think alike to be part of the tribe?
And it's the same attitude that reflects in today's highly polarising politics. People strongly support or oppose certain political parties. But being a democracy, and voting being a highly secretive process, everyone is entitled to their opinion and hence their right to choose. Why must one try to convince the other? A genuine vote comes from free will. Enjoyment of any of the fine or performing arts is an individual's prerogative. One may or may not enjoy something but do we really need to influence people around us to fall in line with our perception.
Just something to think about..
