HOW TO DEAL WITH INTERNET CREEPS
Being a blogger is an absolute dream. I’m able to express myself and share my thoughts and goals with the internet. That being said, it also means that it’s all out there for everyone to see, including the creeps. I wanted to take a minute and talk about this. It’s not okay and we shouldn’t feel guilty or cruel when we block these people or choose not to respond. I’ve been blogging for 3 years now and lord knows I’ve had to deal with weird and uncomfortable emails and direct messages on social media platforms. This type of behavior isn’t something we should have to deal with or expect, but we live in a world where that’s how it is. I REFUSE to ever be okay with this. I know many individuals who don’t talk about this or are embarrassed by it, but I believe that talking about it gets the word out. We, as women, need to stand together against bullies and creeps. We need to talk about how gross and unprofessional it is.
In the beginning, I would just ignore the messages I would receive. I found myself feeling like it was my fault. Maybe if I didn’t post as much or whatnot, I wouldn’t be receiving these messages. I found myself feeling really guilty. Sometimes I would even respond politely saying “thank you” if an older man would send me a message that said “well you’re extremely pretty.” I’m not quite sure when, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. That’s NOT okay. I shouldn’t ever feel guilty for not responding to a message that made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I should be able to express myself as a blogger, be myself, and not have others send me gross messages. We all should be able to do this. We should all be confident in ourselves, give creeps the finger, and move on. So here’s what I do when I receive messages from creeps now:
Respond however you see fit. I don’t like to be unkind (even though I’m probably screaming about a thousand curse words when I read the message) because I believe that the individuals messaging me probably have a lot of issues already and won’t learn a lesson if someone is retaliating in a cruel way. I respond with something like this, “I believe that comment was inappropriate and unkind.” It’s simple and to the point.
Block em. These people ARE NOT worth it. Don’t give them your anger or time. Block these people and hopefully they’ll learn their lesson. All you can do it hope the best for them and encourage anyone they pick on, to tell them what they’re doing is inappropriate.
Talk about it. Tell others about what happened. If we get the word out about how inappropriate this behavior is, ideally it should teach a lesson and this will become a better world. Encourage others to stand up for one another and more importantly, stand up for themselves.
Don’t let these type of people bring you down. YOU are an amazing individual. YOU are loved and worth it. Don’t let the haters bring you down. Stand up for what you believe in. Stand up against the creeps. Encourage others to do the same.
Love Always,
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