These days, it seems that people on the internet get angry over the most trivial of things. This seems to happen most commonly on social media, where pretty much anyone and everyone is given a platform to share their opinions on matters that have absolutely nothing to do with them.
Scarlett London, a 24-year-old blogger and influencer, was already aware of this fact - but she didn't know how far people could take their anger until she posted this image to Instagram:
The image, which was part of a paid sponsorship with Listerine, was accompanied by this caption: "The best of days start with a smile and positive thoughts. And pancakes. And strawberries. And bottomless tea. My morning routine is now live on YouTube - and while I don't show you my real bed hair (trust me, it's not pretty), I do give you a little insight into how I start my day in a positive way."
Almost as soon as it went up, though, the blogger said she started receiving threats.
"In the last 48 hours, grown men & women, MPs, women’s equality representatives, journalists, actresses and broadcasters have discovered my Instagram feed and decided to pick it apart online, in front of thousands," she said.
"I implore those mindlessly sharing this content to research who I am as a person, before they further drag my name and image through the mud. Yes, I do adverts on here, but only with brands I genuinely use and would spend money on myself. My feed isn’t a place of reality."
So what exactly is so wrong about the image? London doesn't appear to be doing anything offensive in the snap, and she was totally up-front about it being a paid sponsorship, too.
Astoundingly, it all seemed to be because London had used tortilla wraps instead of pancakes in the shot. Oh, and that there isn't any tea in her mug.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, London said that she had received countless hateful comments, "Many to the effect of that I'm a danger to young women and should suffer, I should be stopped, I should suffocate on the balloons, I should kill myself because of how pathetic I am. But if I'm totally honest, those were the more tame of the bunch."
Most of the negative responses came after someone shared a screenshot of the post to Twitter, saying, "F*** off this is anybody's normal morning. Instagram is a ridiculous lie factory made to make us all feel inadequate."
And the responses only got worse from there.
Eventually, London posted a response to her critics, imploring them to stop their bullying and look into who she really is as a person and how she uses her platform for good. Unfortunately, this didn't stop the hate.
"You can refer to yourself as a poor, bullied 'young girl' all you like but if you're going to effectively sell products to your followers, your methods are going to come under criticism," wrote one person.
"I personally don’t think my content is harmful to young girls but I do agree Instagram can present a false expectation for people to live up to. And I am wholeheartedly sorry if I’ve ever made anyone feel inadequate through my content," she wrote.
"My life mission is quite the opposite. I am a strong 24-year-old woman who has experienced bullying in the past. I am and will be okay after this hideous experience. But another young girl or guy as the subject of a targeted hate campaign might not be okay. Please remember at the centre of of every viral storm is a human being."
London has made the decision to keep her post up on her page, and it is still receiving negative comments at the time of writing. However, it has also been flooded with positive messages from well-wishers who want to reassure the blogger - and anyone else reading - that not everyone on the internet is quite so heartless, and that nobody deserves such brutal death threats for their good intentions.
