It's a sad fact that people on the internet will take any opportunity they can get to shame and judge other people, whether they're friends, strangers or even family members. It often seems like social media has only served to exacerbate our least empathetic traits, and can turn the most placid and respectful of online communities into fire and pitchfork mobs if not properly moderated. Nowadays people body shame, pay shame, food shame: whatever. Every aspect of other people's personal lives and habits is up for criticism.
Commenting on the phenomenon, Jon Ronson, the journalist and author who penned the bestselling book: 'So You've Been Publically Shamed,' stated: "The easiest thing to do is to shame somebody. It's unfashionable to be patient and thoughtful and empathetic. Those things have become unfashionable and also they're a little bit more difficult. They're not as instant. Twitter makes judgments and condemnation easy. Compassion and curiosity takes more time, so I think that's got something to do with it."
Now we might well have seen the most egregious example of online shaming yet: ring shaming. A group on Facebook called "That's It, I'm Ring Shaming" has been created to allow posters the opportunity to critique wedding and engagement rings that they find ugly or tasteless. However, this week one poster went a step too far, by publically ring-shaming herself!
The woman in question snapped a picture of an engagement ring she found in her house and uploaded it to the group. She captioned the snap: "Found this in the BF's nightstand. Not a fan. Please roast and then tell me how to tactfully say no you need to go get something different."
Needless to say, the reaction to this post was pretty divisive. For example, one commenter wrote: "I hope the guy sees this and breaks up. Seriously if that's the type of person she is nobody should marry her until she fixes her attitude," while another person added: "What is it with engagement rings anyway? They're not going to be worn for a very long time, they are replaced by yet another expensive ring, and some messed up guides claim you should pay around a month's income on one. Money that could be invested in a bigger, better wedding, or a couple vacation, or savings account for the couple's future kids."
However, some people seemed to be sympathetic to the woman's plight, with one commenter writing: "I think she's justifiably asking for advice. 'How do I tactfully say no, you need to go and get something different?' And the answer is for her to say 'Hey hun, you should go and get some different girlfriend."
What do you think? Are these ring-shaming groups just a bit of harmless fun? Or are they enabling an unhealthy attitude of narcissism and entitlement? Personally, I feel like if you're lucky enough to have anyone want to propose to you, you should at least be a tiny bit grateful. But hey, that's just me.
