It’s time to stop the bile of social media
THE death of Caroline Flack is a tragedy and certain elements of the media have to take a measure of responsibility through their hounding of this poor woman. The same people are shedding crocodile tears at her untimely death. However, before we are quick to judge others, we have to accept we all share in the responsibility for her death. If there was not a market for this salacious nonsense, it would not exist. As a society we must take a long, hard look at who is feeding this machine — us. We are complicit, with many feeding this frenzy on social media. Individually, we have the ability to put a stop to this bile.
ALEX ORR, Edinburgh. THE fact TV presenter Caroline Flack has died is a tragedy of enormous proportion in personal and family terms. But why was her sad death the first item in TV news bulletins ahead of Storm Dennis, coronavirus and Boris Johnson’s reshuffle?
E. THOMAS, Eastbourne, E. Sussex. TOO many were quick to gain publicity on social media with expressions of love following this sad death.
LESLIE GILL, Chatham, Kent. SHALLOW and vacuous reality shows deliberately wind up people to titillate a baying public. Are we unable to see the psychological problems such behaviour can cause? They are the contemporary coliseum, throwing people to the lions for our amusement. It has gone way too far and it’s time to pull the plug on such rubbish.
P. C. COOK, Huddersfield, W. Yorks.
IT IS tragic for anyone to take their own life and, without wishing to appear unsympathetic, I find it astonishing the death of a TV presenter dominated the front pages when people died and hundreds had their homes wrecked across the country due to Storm Dennis. Blame for Miss Flack’s death has been placed on crippling anxieties from her childhood, the police, the CPS and social media. Many people have faced difficult childhoods, Cliff Richard went through hell during his longdrawn-out court proceedings and the police and CPS have been merely doing their job. As for social media, no one is forced to read vile and abusive posts by trolls — just ignore them. Too many celebrities seem unable to accept criticism and don’t realise that when they are in the spotlight they have a duty to maintain standards of behaviour because many young people see them as role models.
SUSAN RICHARDSON, Sheffield. LOOK at the outcome of putting more emphasis on a minor domestic incident than on knife crime and gang warfare in London: a lovely young lady driven to suicide. RIP Caroline.
RONALD HOPES, Oakdale, Gwent. SOCIAL media causes as much damage to mental health as smoking does to our lungs.
ANGUS LONG, Newcastle upon Tyne.