Nimra Ali, a 17 year old girl, recently stole hearts of the entire country due to an adorable interview that went viral. While 2020 brought with it numerous tragedies, Nimra’s video seemed like the only good thing that had happened.

The instant her interview started circulating on social media, Nimra Ali became everyone’s obsession

In the video, the girl was seen being extremely excited to have appeared on camera. She gushed and talked non stop and told hilarious stories in a very innocent way as the graceful host listened to her patiently. The purity of the moment was wholesome for many people and the video got viral as Pakistanis piled on praises.

Many took to social media to compliment Nimra for her ability to be joyous over the tiniest of life’s moments

As the video spread, a lot of users expressed their positive feelings regarding the video. They prayed that she always stays this innocent, happy and untainted by the darkness of 2020. Many pointed out how her unfiltered interview and the host’s kindness was what was needed more in Pakistan. It was a moment of happiness for the entire nation as we celebrated a 17-year-old girl’s excitement over appearing on T.V. It was a second of reprieve that we all deeply needed.

https://twitter.com/shayadzohair/status/1306663187018903553

Unfortunately, it didn’t last as Nimra broke down in an interview recently because of the hate she receives

As it seems like all good things in Pakistan, this was also short-lived. Recently, Nimra appeared on an interview and started crying about her recent viral fame. It started off on a good note, with her chatting happily with her usual energy. She explained how now that she was getting famous a lot of people wanted to contact her and she didn’t want to appear to have an attitude so she made time for interviews. She also talked about how her mother is proud of her because she is getting famous in a positive light. In a cheeky manner, she took the host’s seat and constantly told the camera to get a good shot of her. It was all just as wholesome and positive as her viral video but soon, things went downhill.

https://www.facebook.com/180049222630850/videos/987078615140956

When asked, what she thought of the bad comments Nimra said she doesn’t read comments because it lowers her confidence and hurts to see people talking negative about her. She also stressed that most people have nice things to say. However, the host went on to insist that this was not the case. She stated how she had been seeing Nimra’s videos for the past three days and found a lot of negative comments and also mentions, that people were using her for fame.

The host insisted on telling Nimra that a lot of YouTube channels were using her name and making clickbait videos which supposedly showed Nimra in “indecent settings”, only to get attention and views. Upon hearing all this, Nimra couldn’t control her emotions and burst out crying.

Many Pakistanis took to social media to express their feelings regarding the host’s rather unforgivable behavior in this interaction just to make Nimra Ali cry

https://twitter.com/i_am__moon_/status/1310428710885969920

The host was severely criticized for her leading statements

While, in the beginning, they seemed to share a good chemistry, it soon became apparent that the host of the show herself wanted to use Nimra for views. Even despite Nimra not wanting to talk about the bad comments, she deliberately talks about the subject and exaggerates the hate to the point that the 17-year-old starts crying on camera. Many blamed the host for being insincere in her passionate speech against haters when she was essentially doing the same thing she was accusing other media channels of doing.

In light of what happened to Nimra Ali, we have to wonder is it the nature of social media or is it the way we are using it that’s the problem?

These incidents continue to shed light on the kind of landscape we are creating for our youth. Pakistan has been a hub of tragedies, crime and devastation in the past few months. All we see on the news is bad things happening and their doers getting away scot-free. Social media provides an outlet for everyone to be expressive without inhibition and without censorship therefore it also allows for people to shed their manners and civility about someone else expressing their life over social media.

Nimra Ali’s viral video was impactful because it highlighted that the innocence of women and children still remains in the  country. That, despite all the bad that happens, we are still capable of feeling love for a 17-year-old girl who speaks her mind. However, the way she was made to cry a few days later on camera shows we are indeed living in dark times.

It’s not just Nimra. Look at so many other examples like Ahmed Shah, Hareem Shah and in extreme cases there are tragic instances like Qandeel Baloch. Our entertainment starved audience fall quickly, in love, with anyone who is unique and they fall out of love with that person just as quickly because of the mainstream media’s inability to understand that self-expression of social media can’t be picked up for mainstream broadcasting and cheapened.

As the young girl’s name has been exploited just to get views and fame, we see how irresponsible our media has become. It’s not the Government’s job to regulate social media and expecting for them to do so will only further stifle the very little avenues young and marginalized communities have for self-expression. Perhaps what’s needed is self awareness, the need for civility and understanding of personal boundaries. Educating the masses rather than banning the apps could be a better way to approach the best use of expression on social media while allowing freedoms to all those who really need it along with a safe space to exercise their freedom. We need to be more considerate, kind and less opportunistic as a nation.