Turns out the virtual glossy mag that is Instagram can also be one big downer. Photo / Getty Images
So Cardi B has deleted her Instagram.
She's deactivated her account off the back of her Grammy win.
She was the first female solo artist to win Best Rap Album.
But in spite of that illustrious gong, in the days that followed she got a swathe of comments from people who said she didn't deserve it.
Cardi B, outraged and offended, did what all kick ass, feisty celebs do in that situation: she ranted back at the trolls in an expletive-laden video.
But the commenters continued, so she deactivated her account. Boom. Gone.
The haters could no longer get to her, they could no longer get inside her head.
The rapper said she realised she didn't need to be brought down by them. She worked out she could literally turn them off, so she did.
So when did "social" media, get so anti-social? The very platform set up to create and inspire community is doing the exact opposite. And isn't that the greatest lesson of the internet? It's the epitome of the meme "this is why we can't have nice things".
But the toxicity doesn't only come in the form of hardcore haters and trolls.
Many teenagers and younger kids these days are finding the toxicity is also coming from the complete opposite of hate: it's coming from the perfectly curated, filtered lives of the people they follow. The airbrushed, well lit, professionally made up celebs, the quirky 'I-just-got-out-of-bed-but-I-still-look-a-million-bucks' pictures ... even their own polished "I'm having so much fun!" friends.
Turns out the virtual glossy mag that is Instagram can also be one big downer.
The effect of which only serves to make people feel bad about themselves.
It's why the Brits famously argue Coronation Street's such a successful show: because people watch it to feel better about themselves. To see people with worse lives than them, or something at least relatable.
Social media is often the exact opposite.
So you have the toxic, negative echo chamber that is Twitter turning people off, and the pretty pictures of Instagram making people feel bad about themselves.
I asked my kids about why their friends are turning off social media and deleting the apps. They said it's because they find it too toxic. It makes them feel bad. They're sick of it. They find the negativity too draining and the perfection too confronting.
They also hate the advertorial aspect of it. It's the breeding ground of influencers peddling products and they find that tedious too.
So did we worry prematurely about our kids and their addictions to social media?
Could it be that kids are smart, and they figure this stuff out for themselves in the end?
And if it means they choose, like Cardi B, to deactivate to protect their mental health, then that's awesome.
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