‘SOCIAL MEDIA TROLLS MUST BE PUT IN THEIR PLACE’
Actor Swara Bhasker talks about giving it back to harassers online as that’s the best way to teach them a lesson
Today, when social media has become an integral part of an actor’s life, getting trolled and body shamed happen to be an everyday affair. Acknowledging the perils of technology, actor Swara Bhasker, who has been part of films such as Nil Battey Sannata (2016) and Anaarkali of Aarah (2017), states that it will always have some side effects.
Not one to mince her words, Swara says, “You can either use technology [for good] or misuse it, and like anything else, technology is also going to reflect the mindset of the society. Sadly, we have a society where harassment of women is actually normalised, where we know that it’s there though it’s not accepted. We deal with it and we’re almost kind of okay with it.”
Comparing the scenario in real life to that in the virtual world, she adds, “That’s why you see Twitter timelines of a lot of people, including me, resemble those streets where men are passing comments at women. So, what happens to me when I walk down the road — chherkhani or eve teasing — is exactly what happens to me on my Twitter timeline.”
In the past, whenever Swara has been subjected to mean comments on social media, she has made it a point to hit back. The actor explains, “For me, the way I react on the street by answering back and not ignoring, the same thing I do on Twitter. I always react because I think you must.” She adds that it’s time these trolls are put in their place. “I purposely re-tweet or share posts, where it shows you what you’re responding to. So, now I respond to trolls by troll shaming them,” quips Swara.