One of the main reasons why most of us are on social media nowadays are the memes. People are running entire social and political commentaries via memes and they have become a crucial part of all of our social media lives. And when a meme goes viral, you know most of the country will have heard about it.
Similarly, Pakistanis we were greeted by yet another meme recently. But this one struck all the wrong chords
The picture caught people’s attention for multiple reasons. The first is obviously the text which says, “mard ke barabar aana hai tou Ramazan ke pooray rozay rakh ke dikhao,” and secondly, for the obliviousness of the guy who posed with the text with a guitar and people just couldn’t understand why.
Needless to say, the picture went viral pretty quickly and was shared all across various social media sites. It gained a lot of traction and was met with heavy criticism.
However, a Twitter user pointed out how the meme has gone on to destroy the featured person’s life
https://twitter.com/surkhminahil/status/1005480361336410113
She pointed out how the original image featured the guy in front of a projector slide – not a whiteboard. Moreover, she mentioned how he’s depressed as a consequence of the image
https://twitter.com/surkhminahil/status/1005483184119836672
But here’s the alarming part: he’s been out of contact
https://twitter.com/surkhminahil/status/1005501706392817666
Additionally, his friends believe that he’s suicidal
https://twitter.com/surkhminahil/status/1005487851604234240
According to Minahil, who’s a friend of a friend of Taimoor (the featured person), he has been out of reach ever since his family got to know about the entire situation. They have gone out of town since – but no one knows exactly where.
His family is unable to understand the entire situation well and has been treating him really badly, which has led him to suffer from serious depression – and many of his friends are suspicious that he may also be suicidal because of the entire fiasco.
There are many users who pointed out how they always felt like the image was indeed Photoshopped and there were clear signs that could tell
For instance, some people pointed out how you can clearly see how the guitar is at a notable “safe distance” from the text and how there are no apparent overlaps – something which doesn’t really happen in usual cases.
People even pointed out how the writing didn’t seem like it was from a whiteboard
But you can clearly tell that it isn't written by a board marker, its written by the "doodle" option in an editor? I've used it before so I can tell.
Its sad how social media can ruin a person's life without them even doing anything wrong.— a (@halalvodka) June 9, 2018
Some people even pointed out that their initial warnings fell on deaf ears
I said it then, nobody listened ffs https://t.co/z1ptKv2zYz
— ھمدانی (@Sayoneeee) June 9, 2018
While many people are rightfully concerned regarding Taimoor’s well-being, this isn’t the first time that a thing like this has happened
Last year, the infamous Aunty Gormint made her debut on social media and quickly became viral. She went beyond borders and became a pop culture icon because of the immense relevance of the video. Her phrase, “yeh bik gayi hai gormint,” became commonplace in all conversations and her fearlessness is something that people were in awe of.
Only later it was discovered that her name is Qamar and she is a resident of Martin Quarters in Karachi. After the video, she was ostracized by her extended family.
Her son revealed that Qamar suffers from high blood pressure problems often making her lose her temper – and in that state, she often doesn’t realize what she’s saying. He also shared how difficult life has been for them ever since the discovery of the footage.
“Everyone makes fun of my mother. We have stopped attending family events because people, instead of enjoying the family functions, shift their focus to my mother. We have had many altercations with our relatives and neighbors over the issue. As a result, no one comes to our house anymore.”
Meanwhile, there was another video which went notably viral. It featured a group of schoolgirls who were being interviewed regarding their experience in Murree
The phrase, “bohat mazaa aaraha hai,” and, “we are proud of you,” quickly went on to become the new laughing stock of the town. Memes and references were made, and many laughed at the girls.Only later it was discovered that the girl was so affected by the entire scene that she had stopped attending college and wanted to die
For many, memes are a harmless form of social media entertainment. But many of us fail to realize that it’s always at the cost of someone’s sanity and their lives
Here are two of the cases where the individuals were driven towards having the thoughts of taking their own lives due to misuse of their pictures or videos. There might be countless more whose pictures and videos are shared for the sake of laughter and jokes. We need to realize that misuse and manipulation of images and videos is a criminal act with up to 3 years in jail and a fine of Rs. 1 million.
But none of that compares to the scars left on the individual being mercilessly tortured in the aftermath
These individuals never imagined that their harmless pictures would ever end up the way they did
They have been shunned by their society, by their friends, and most alarmingly, by their own families. It’s high time we realize and pay attention to the source of our entertainment and should understand that it should never be at the cost of someone else’s ridicule.
If you or anyone you know is facing cyber-bullying, please reach out to the National Response Center for Cyber Crime.
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