Slowly Creeps Up On You: Actors Open Up On Social Media Negativity

Ananya Panday recently discussed the influence of social media in an Elle India interview. She shared her strategy of muting and unfollowing pages that bring negativity or discomfort. Reflecting on the challenges faced by today's youth in seeking validation from social platforms, she emphasised the overwhelming information flow and its potential negative impact. Similarly, during her conversation with SheThePeople, actor Kalki Koechlin delved into the significance of mental health, effective strategies for safeguarding it, and techniques for filtering out negative energy from one's life. 

The Gehraiyaan actor said, "I still believe I've had it easier because I had a childhood without phones. Things are tougher for teenagers these days as it can be easy to seek validation from social media. There is a constant overload of information on social media, and you don't know how much of it will impact you negatively. It slowly creeps up on you, and that negativity starts building up. Which is why I've started muting and unfollowing pages that make me feel anxious, sad or unhappy in any way — I have grown quite ruthless."

Kalki On Protecting Mental Health In A World Full Of Negative Chatter

Panday then highlighted her shift towards prioritising mental well-being by spending time alone to find inner calm amid the surrounding noise of opinions and advice, saying, "Spending time alone helps me because I'm constantly surrounded by people, advice and opinions. There's a lot of background noise, so spending time by myself and listening to my voice is what calms me down."

Moreover, Koechlin talked about how keeping away from her phone and keeping many filters in place for herself has helped her drown out online trolls and social media users who target her online presence with negative comments. "Mostly, I try not to read the comments too much because there's always going to be a few people that just want to be nasty," she said. "Not just a few."

She admits to being bothered by the trolls, and she would initially try to interact with them to win them over. Now, her mindset has changed. "I don't need that energy," she said. "I have too many other wonderful things in my life to take care of. So more and more, I just put my own filters there. If something is really bothering me, why am I engaging in it? I don't need to. I can block somebody. I block people."