So what is a ‘comment section’ and how often do you read through it?
How often do you utilize it and leave your own comment and do you take the
time to scroll through the tens or thousands of comments that have been posted?
We all know of them, but are we aware of what occurs within them?
Comment sections exist on most online platforms, and arguably exist on all social media platforms in some shape. The usefulness of comment sections came about with the necessity of publishers receiving feedback on their content and has been argued to be a right for all in terms of their freedom of speech. Not only do many publishers value feedback, but comment sections can also be utilized for audiences to share opinions and ideas and to build relationships with one another. Their existence becomes particularly necessary when it comes to social media platforms since the users become the generators of content. However, very few comment sections are moderated and the discourses within these comment sections can derail from simply asking questions, sharing ideas and communication between audiences. At some point, comment sections have become a place to avoid for many since the comments that have been posted are often upsetting and can lead to arguments between users. Whilst these comments can vary extraordinarily between different platforms and between different published content, the main discourse amongst images of women and women’s bodies seem to focus on criticizing or giving appraisal tothese women’s appearances. Mostly notably, social media platforms that are largely image-based with the exception of a direct messenger feature, the comment sections are riddled with opinions on the content of the image. While many will argue that simply commenting on the appearance of a woman’s body is within their rights to freedom of speech, it becomes a social issue when these comments begin to affect the recipients and the audiences.
Comment sections are unavoidable for the most part. Whether or not the platform requires you to open the comment section or whether the comments are already on display on your timeline, they constitute a large part of our use of social media. Once we become bombarded with comments that dictate what is wrong or what is right with a women’s body, we may start to compare or own bodies with those that are ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ and issues of body image may arise. These comments can fuel our deepest insecurities can as a consequence of that, may feed into body dysmorphia or eating disorders, especially when your own image is on display for people to talk about.
The images and text displayed on this website have been created based on real images and real comments that have been found on Instagram, Facebook and 9gag. The images and text have been selected on these various platforms within the timeframe of a year and were sampled due to their relevance to the topic. If you wish to provide your reaction to these images, or give an account of your own experience with comment sections, please leave some feedback.
To read more on this project and the research behind it, please
click here
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