So this is awkward but lemme get your opinion...

Why do we feel the need to bash things online so vehemently? Is it because we can hide behind a keyboard? Is it for fun? Is it to pass the time, join the conversation, or just to go against the grain?

If anyone understands the deep psychology of this, please let me know. I am taking a psychology class as I write this blog, but we haven't covered such complex topics yet. I would love to hear your thoughts.

The easiest example for me is Taylor Swift. If you don't like her, her music, or her relationship with Travis Kelce, why pay attention to her? Social media is based on algorithms. If you don't interact with Taylor Swift content, you won't see any. Don't like her music? Don't listen to it. There are billions of songs on each streaming platform. I'm sure you can find something you like, and you don't have to pay for many of those platforms.

HOT TAKES ALERT: I’m not a fan of Kim Kardashian, so I don't pay attention to her. I don't follow her or any of the Kardashians on social media. I don't open articles about her either. I’m not in the Beyhive, so I didn’t listen to Beyonce's new album. Until now, I didn't feel the need to post about how aggressively I'm not listening to it. (Side note, I don't have any negative feelings toward Beyonce. Her music just doesn't do much for me. It has NOTHING to do with being a fan of Taylor Swift. But I can also not be a fan of Beyonce and not make hating her online my life’s mission.)

You can apply this to almost any issue in life. I’m not saying every problem can be solved by ignoring it, but many can. Anything that makes me feel less than content, I don't continue to consume. If I'm watching a movie that I'm not enjoying, I’ll stop it and watch something I want to watch. If someone starts posting things I don't agree with online, I simply don't interact with the post, and if it continues, I mute the person or unfollow them. I’ve even started walking away from conversations I don't like. It’s truly freeing.

Life genuinely is too short to be anything but happy, so why waste your time bashing the things you hate when you could spend that time enjoying something else?

This is really one of the things about life I will never understand. Why do we spend so much time getting angry with each other and worrying about such trivial things? There truly are bigger fish to fry.

I suppose we could argue that we worry about the small stuff because the big things are too big. If this is the case, then why don't we figure out how to tackle the big problems? This could be the inner idealist/romantic in me, but in my perfect world, so many things would be fixed if people could just be happy. I’m not trying to discredit other emotions, but I'm saying if we could get rid of the small problems like cutting each other in line, worrying about our ranking, and many of the envious and competitive things we worry about, everyone would be a lot happier.

I’m also not trying to censor people. I’m not saying you can’t share your opinions if they're negative, that would be the most hypocritical thing I could ever do on this blog. It's more so the continuous hate for things that people feel the need to post. I’m talking about those annoying people who constantly post about one topic that angers them. Like they find their soapbox and then every aspect of their social media becomes their personal mission to make everyone hate it with them. Those are the situations I'm talking about. Just share your distaste once, then boom, done, you shared your opinion. Stop shoving it down our throats.

There is a flip side to this coin, because there always is, isn't there? There are the fanatics as well, and yes, I know that's rich coming from a Swiftie like me. I am one of the very first people to admit that Swifties can get PSYCHO real quick, and I want it on record right here, right now: that's not me. I’m not the Swiftie who will spend every penny to see her in concert, because I'm an adult and I need that money for my kid. I'm not the Swiftie who is going to buy her album on every format just to have it, or anything like that. Those crazy Swifties give people like me a bad name.

I have adored and admired Taylor Swift since I was 11 years old. Whether or not you like her, you have to agree that she is an incredible role model for young girls. If you somehow don't know the story of Taylor Swift, here's a brief recap:

Taylor has been singing since she could talk. When she was a kid, someone came over to her house, saw that she had an old beat-up guitar, and taught her how to play a few chords. She then started writing songs, and begged her mom to bring her to Nashville to get a record deal. She decided she wanted to be a singer, and she did whatever she had to do to achieve that dream. That's an amazing message to send to young girls. If you keep persevering, keep grinding, keep working, keep practicing, you could achieve your goal.

I can't begin to count how many girls at my school look up to her. I’ve played guitar since I was 13, and I can play almost every song she's ever released. (I’m not going to say written because who knows that number is in the thousands if not millions.) She has been a constant for me for 18 years now, which is over half of my life. I am a day one fan of hers, but I still have the sound mind to set the line of insanity for her. I’m not spending my life savings for her, I don't agree with everything she says or does, but I still protect and promote her because it makes me happy.

I truly hope that people who hate so loudly and aggressively find something positive and constructive that makes them as happy as Taylor Swift and so many more things make me. I also hope they find some peace and quiet because it must be loud to constantly scream your opinions at people. I also wonder if those people realize that a lot of their hateful posts say more about them, rather than the person they’re bashing. I'm going to go with no, or they would've had the self-awareness to stop posting by now.

Just take a deep breath, or a few, it really helps. Then maybe look in a mirror. I have been looking a lot deeper into mirrors lately, and I encourage others to do the same.

I could go on and on for hours about how people hate my girl TSwift, but I’ll stop it there for now.