Virality! What Is It Good For?

It is unique in its power, but it is not a straight forward phenomenon. To cast it as an unalloyed good, sullied only by the occasional rounding error, ignores the fact that it came to be known as the Hell site.

As a form of celebrity, virality can be understood as a form of desolation. Celebrity used to be reserved for a select few, and even today the word makes one think more of, say, Jen Lawrence. Any of us can get it. We can also be hounded by the photographers into a tunnel. We don't know if the money will come along with it. If you think about how starring in a meme makes you a kind of communal property, or how rarely Black and other nonwhites can convert the value they generate for social media giants into a living for themselves, you'll get the idea.

The lack of money is not the sole reason. You don't have paid PR professionals to manage your social media presence, you don't have paid assistants to screen your mail, and you don't have bodyguards to protect you. Suddenly hordes of strangers care about what you do and have opinions about it because you don't have the resources. Things can turn nasty when you become a main character.

The platform's epitaph might be the "chili neighbour" controversy, since it has been littered with similar embarrassing episodes. A group of young students who had just moved in next to her had ordered takeout and made a pot of chili for them. There was a lot of support for her, but it was quickly taken over by activists who accused her of a lot of sins. Some of the critics were happy when she threatened to cook and eat her pig. She didn't want to use her account anymore.

The Washington Post's cooking section needed content, so it asked two experts to comment on the proper way to give food to neighbours. I can only imagine how that woman felt when she found out that her small act of kindness was picked up in the pages of a large newspaper. There are over 1,500 comments on the article.

When I think of Isabel Fall, the woman who checked herself into a mental hospital in a desperate attempt to stay alive, I wonder if it's worth it. The fates of people like Fall were always the price for its popularity. I wouldn't draw attention to them in these pages because it would only lead to more abuse. Personal disputes became hyper-politicized mob actions that have pushed people to the edge of suicide. Some didn't know what to do with it.