Should the comment sections be removed from the internet? Jersey thinks so!

by DAVIS BROWN PRC Agency

In his recent reappearance to the live interview scene, Jersey Demic discusses many issues close to his life and experiences, from Kanye West's presidential campaign to how coronavirus has changed his habits. One of the most unique takes from this interview though, was his point of view that there should be no comments on the internet, because there are creators “not mentally stable enough” to handle the possibly terrible and short-sighted comments that tend to plague the internet, further going to say that those kinds of comments can “make people view [the creators] music in a completely different way”, often towards the negative.

The best example of how the second point is handled generally came up recently with Taylor Swift's recent album, folklore, and its release plan. She announced the release day of and then released it that night with no pre-released singles or videos, and when asked about it, her producers said that this was done so that everyone could hear it at the same time, without the tint that comes along with months of speculation regarding an album and two or three singles, both of which can distort how the viewer or listener enjoys the album, much in the way Demic fears the often toxic and demeaning comments all over the internet could.

For fear of being repetitive, Taylor Swift is also an excellent example of the other concern Demic suggests, in that often mental health of creators is on the line when they are releasing new content, with Taylor swift having to take a full year after her first major pop album being released because of the stark backlash from the media and commenters, both of which were heavily negatively affecting her mental health, despite the onslaught of positive comments and reviews from 1989. This type of disparity between how negative and positive comments affect creators is what I think the crux of Demics point is, and possibly why limiting commenting or stopping it in some cases may be beneficial or at least merits more discussion.

This type of feature is already being seen in mass creative based apps such as TikTok which gives the creator the option to limit or eliminate the option to comment. This has been a double-edged sword though for that platform, as it has both encouraged more creativity and content creation in a platform free of direct bullying from viewers but has also allowed people to feel free to say grotesque things often hurtful to the community as a whole, which would otherwise be punished directly through comments, as well as another harm which is that comment sections, especially on TikTok, are often where the viewer can see what community thinks of a specific video, and interact with the community at large, which overall helps the platform and creator, so without this outlet for the viewer that community building would not happen.

This leads to the final and personally what I see as the most effective and beneficial option, which is an option youtube has implemented, which is allowing creators to set filters for what is allowed in their comments, and be able to delete any comments they see as harmful. This allows for a more open discussion, so the viewer can see what the community thinks, and add to it, but it finds a happy medium as the creator could filter out comments that could be harmful to mental health or the community. This is a discussion that needs to be brought up more in the media and across the internet, and I think Demic hit it right on the head, the perfect beginning to this much needed conversation.

Listen for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNLwm-VvngY&t=1948s

Article Written by Will Mccaffery