We explain what a haterits characteristics and its negative impact on others. In addition, we tell you how to deal with a hater.
What is a hater?
In internet and social media jargon, it's called hater to a person who engages in toxic behaviors of continuous and exaggerated criticism, promotion of hatred (homophobia, xenophobia, racism) and, in general, offensive and antagonistic behavior, especially when dealing with successful figures or the prominence of third parties.
The term hater comes from english hate (“hate”) and constitutes an unnecessary loan, that is, an Anglicism, which must be written in italics in formal contexts and which is equivalent, more or less, to the terms “hater”, “detractor”, “slanderer”, “enemy”. ” or “cursing.” This term is typical of the world of social networks and its use is both widespread and criticized within online communities.
This is because There is no consensus regarding what behaviors are characteristic of a hater. In some cases the term is used more lightly, to refer to people who oppose a social cause or who are critical of a popular icon of online culture, often without this being supported by any real reason or transcendent.
In this sense, the expression “haters gonna hate” (“haters will always hate”) to express that there will always be people dissatisfied, offended or upset by what others think or do, and that therefore it is not possible to have the unanimous approval of thousands or millions of people, nor does it make sense to look for it.
On the other hand, the problem of the radicalization of opinions in online circuits is a real issue. Many times the haters They may be political fanatics, conspiracy theorists, or simply extremely unhappy people who derive some degree of satisfaction from making others suffer.
Whatever the reason, these normally anonymous people They spend a good part of their time harassing and offending others on social networksinciting hatred against them and potentially leading to cybercrime: disclosing personal information, promoting harassment in real life, among others.
According to statistics from Unicef Argentina, 9 out of every 10 teenage social media users consulted have witnessed attacks by hatersand 4 out of 10 were victims of said attacks, while 3 out of 10 admit to having been, on some occasion, the attackers. On the other hand, only 1 in 4 uses some type of tool to deal with haters.
See also: Cringe
Characteristics of a hater
A hater It can be recognized by the following characteristics:
- Normally use an anonymous accountidentified or not with certain ideological values: political, religious, racial, or other types.
- Your comments and posts are always aimed at attackingoffend, humiliate or expose other people, be they social network users or entertainment personalities.
- Their attacks may be limited to a specific virtual space, or can continue in other spheres of virtual life (text messages, posts on forums and blogs), and even from people's real lives. Furthermore, they can be more or less harmless, or they can border on cybercrime.
- Your comments and posts always have a visceral, angry, offended or insulting toneand often contain false, manipulated or dubious information.
- May often disclose confidential information of third parties and encourage ridicule or aggression towards those people.
- It brings together three typical personality traits: a narcissism angry, who always seeks to leave himself high in front of others; a Machiavellianism that pushes you to use any type of strategy or argument to “win” an argument; and a certain margin of psychopathy or lack of empathy with the suffering of others.
How to deal with haters?
It is never easy to deal with haters on the internet, especially when nowadays so much time and energy is dedicated to the image projected on social networks. Some tips to try, however, are as follows:
- Ignore, block. What a man covets most hater It is attention: that of his rivals, especially, since he always seeks to show himself as a victorious, superior combatant. A first method of containment against haters It would be denying them what they are looking for: ignoring them and, if they are very insistent, blocking them and forgetting about them. It makes no sense to spend valuable time in your life reading the opinions of a stranger determined to make others suffer.
- Report harassment. Regardless of who it is directed at, harassment and ridicule must be reported, especially when they engage in serious practices, such as exposing personal information, inciting third parties to hatred or violence, or practicing bullying. cyberbullying. Each social network has its own mechanisms to report these attitudes that can lead to hater temporary sanctions and even loss of account. But if that is not enough, for example, if the harassment exceeds the virtual platform, it may be time to go to the relevant authorities.
- Talk to a loved one. If the conduct of the hater causes harm beyond momentary anger, it is a good idea to seek the support of a loved one, with whom you can talk about what happened and get a different perspective. This is especially important to give what happened on social networks a fair dimension, and not allow anyone to cause us emotional harm. Family, friends, psychotherapists, any safe environment is helpful to talk about one's feelings.
- Work on your own self-esteem. It is normal that receiving hateful or hurtful comments makes us suffer or get angry for a while, but it does not lead to changing lifestyle habits or making transcendental decisions. Therefore, it is essential to recognize one's own emotions and understand that validation from third parties (especially strangers) is neither valuable nor necessary to live a happy life. Just as the negativity of a hater It is solely a reflection of your own personality and your own self-esteem, it is important to check if your comments are being given too much importance.
- Disconnect and get back to real life. The Internet can be a source of valuable relationships and a space for enjoyment, work and personal development, or it can be a source of useless suffering. If the latter is the case, it is better to take a break, leave social networks for a while and let things settle. It is also important to understand that real life, everyday life, is much more important than online life.
Continue with: Risks and dangers of social networks
References
- “Psychological analysis of attacks on social networks: the haters” in Nueva Tribuna (Spain).
- “#LoSientoHater” at Unicef.
- “haterbetter than hater” in Fundéu.
- “Hater” in Urban Dictionary.
- “How To Deal With Haters On Social Media” in College of Influence.
