SOCIAL media do not demand any credentials to comment or post anything that can destroy the character of a group or in this case, a race. It may be well-enjoyed by everyone but at the expense of risking one's public posts. Whether uploaded with no intent to malign, the very varied audience can interpret it differently.
Early in May, Riverdale star Cole Sprouse had to delete his photograph uploaded on Instagram after some netizens criticized him for "sensationalizing poverty" in Manila.
The 25-year old actor announced during his interview with the press for a local clothing brand here, "When I travel I like to try and get as much of a local experience as possible".
He had a little photowalk around the capital city and was honest enough to show what he saw. Among his uploads was a photo of a busy neighborhood with kids following him around. It was captioned, "Well I'm not your parent, don't gotta follow me around.”
Some were not happy with this post. Sprouse has since deleted this photo and took to Instagram Story to post his apology: "For those of you that took offense to this photo or the caption, I removed it.”
He continued, "It was not my intention to sensationalize poverty nor poke fun.”
He added, "Shoulda have thought more about the words used, and the implications of those words I hadn't even considered.”
If we were to interpret what happened, we would put our feet on the foreigner's shoe who only wanted to seek what makes Manila. His caption is not displeasing if we understand the context of western humour but if someone who does not have much experience of the American culture would stumble upon it then it would make a different meaning.
What happens commonly is we see something unrelevant and we immediately cry out loud as it reads offensive instead of knowing more about the situation. Remember that Social Media will immortalize whatever you do- so, before ranting and posting it everywhere, take a while and learn about it first. You cannot hate what you understand.
Be a responsible netizen.