Among the things Jenny Slate does not have time for are the jerks of social media. The actor sat down with SheKnows to discuss her upcoming film, Gifted, and got a chance to dole out some big nuggets of wisdom about the power of using your voice on social media.
More: 18 Things About Jenny Slate You Probably Never Knew
“There is no one way to be,” Slate explained. “The only decorum that there is is face-to-face decorum. That is the morality and the system of manners that should be employed online. It isn’t, because people can hide and they act weird. They succumb to that temptation.” That temptation Slate speaks of is the temptation to be a total troll online, to malign others for speaking up and forgetting that there’s actually a socially codified set of behaviors that are the right way to interact with people. Slate has no time for this nonsense behavior for mean people and her words could empower you to feel the same.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSfShMjDL-D/
How does Slate combat this troll-like nonsense though? “I just think, feel like everything is face-to-face, use that same rule when you go on the internet. No, I have never been driven to delete [my social media] because I control it. I can’t control other people, but no one’s in my house,” she concluded. That last bit is Slate referring to the fact that when you speak up and voice your opinions online, you don’t need to worry about a fear of repercussion because thankfully, no one is there (not even the trolls) to bang down your front door and say that their comments to your face. So you must speak up if you want to speak up.
More: Jenny Slate’s Truth Bomb About Dating Chris Evans Is Too Real to Deal
In a time when our president doesn’t set the best example for the face-to-face decorum Slate speaks of, Slate doesn’t feel this should deter you from speaking your truth, especially when it comes to politics. “The fact is that there are many, many people who feel alone and isolated and want somebody to be speaking so that they can speak as well. The positives far outweigh the negatives. Maybe people will be mean to you on the internet, but they’re not at your front door. They’re not at your dinner table. You can decide whether or not they’re real characters in your life.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSZ6fvnjjuP/
More: If Jenny Slate Was Your Librarian, She’d Want You to Read These 10 Books
Slate, who is as positive and hopeful a person as you might imagine her to be, nailed it with this is one simple piece of advice: “I think the more that there is solidarity and a feeling of energy, the more that will become magnetic. It’s just this is what bullies do,” she continued, “They tell you that what you say doesn’t matter. They make you feel embarrassed for trying. That’s just the thing to identify and work around.”
At the end of the day, you can’t let those online trolls stop you from uniting with those who are positive forces and being a positive force yourself. Take a page out of Slate’s book because her advice is killer.
Additional reporting by Lauren Kelly.
Leave a Comment