Clap back

But as interesting as activities on social media can be, it only takes one wrong comment or a wrong post for the ambience on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to change, and then the platform starts to feel like hell. You only need to make the wrong post to the wrong person on social media for you to get a clap back.

Believe me when I say being clapped back at is one of the things you want to avoid on social media. The feeling that ensues being clapped back at, is the exact opposite of the fun, intrigue or amusement that people go searching for on social media.

Someone who has experienced it described it as being scolded on the biggest stage possible. It is like making the wrong connection of wires and getting a shock from it. If you're lucky, the impact is controlled but if you're not, you get your moment of shame. It is even worse when bloggers get involved, and they make a story out of it, then you become a popular object of derision.

You see, the clap back thing is a two way thing. Anyone on social media can clap back, just as much as they can be clapped back at. There only needs to be a wrong connection for a spark to occur. However, the clap backs that make the news, are the ones in which celebrities are involved.

Such clap backs usually happens when a celebrity chooses to respond to a social media user who is perceived to be a badly behaved fan or a deserving hater. It could be in the form of satires, sarcasm or a blunt tell off.

A lot of celebrities use clap backs in telling off people on social media that come across to them as annoying or insolent. Because of the level of attention that celebrities command, they tend to need to use this option at some point, to draw the boundary line for trespassers.

In between the praises and adoration, people tend to forget that celebrities are humans too, with imperfections, and they push these stars past the line of tolerance. When this happens, celebrities find clap backs useful. Because social media allows a lot of loose talks, you'd find out that clap backs occur very often.

However, not all clap backs are justified. Some users hit back at anyone who makes unpleasant posts about them on social media, even when it is valid. In the same way, social media users, including celebrities, hide their insecurities by clapping back at anyone who tries to make a topic out of it, even if the intentions are good and sincere.

It has become a trend today, and even when you mean well, without caution, you can get a clap back. In fact, some people have had their innocent questions misunderstood by another social media user, and for that they got hit backs.

With the growing numbers of clap backs, it has become important to be careful with your posts about other people on social media, especially if you care about the responses or reaction. Do not let the word 'social' in social media lead you to think that your opinion is always welcome by everyone.

So if you must post or comment about other people on social media, make sure it is necessary and please use facts, else the clap back you'd get would be as loud as the trumpet sound.Written by Ibironke Oluwatobi

Ibironke Oluwatobi is a writer and a reader. His interests lie in the niche of entertainment and socio-politics. The first piece he pushed himself to write was an unsent love letter. His greatest earthly inspiration is Hip-Hop.