Smart-shaming: The new trend

By Camilla & Shawn Fernandez

“EH, di wow! Ikaw na magaling. Alam mo naman na lahat, di ba?”

Sounds familiar? Well, it does to me. I used to hear those words often in school. There was one occasion in my class when our professor was discussing etiquette in technology. He wanted us to be attentive and to participate in the class discussion. He didn’t want us just sitting quietly and reserved. He always encourages us to participate.

When he asked for reactions, one of my classmates proudly raised her hand, visibly excited to share her experience about a cyber incident related to our discussion. She spoke confidently, sharing her qualified information about the topic. Every one paid attention to her until one yelled from behind: “Eh, di wow! Ikaw na magaling. Alam mo naman na lahat, di ba?”

But like what usually happens, everybody laughed and reacted to the comment like it was some kind of a joke. My classmate blushed and felt embarrassed but she continued speaking until she finished.

However, because of that incident, she now fears being the target of smart-shaming whenever she participates in a class discussion.

I wonder why some people find it funny when some humiliate others who only wish to share their ideas. Do these “smart-shamers” hate the people who talk smart? Do they feel insecure when others have the answers and they don’t? You may be wondering why that incident is a big deal to me. I shared the humiliation that my classmate felt. We live in a country where freedom of speech is a right, and I strongly believe smart-shaming deprives people of that right.

This smart-shaming practice obstructs learning process, thinkers and speakers. It prevents people from sharing what they know. It builds fear within them, crippling their ability to express themselves.

I love to share what I have learned. I’m not boasting when I say I have learned a lot and still do lot out of genuine desire to help and inspire others to do the same. But sometimes I feel scared myself sharing this. I fear that people might misunderstand me as well.

Why do some people deliberately embarrass others? I read that they do this because they feel they are being overpowered. In some cases, they do it because it’s trendy. Since everybody seems to be doing it, they believe it’s nothing out of the ordinary. It’s not something bad. It makes everybody laugh. There can be nothing wrong with being funny or so they think so.

They don’t realize that they are being insensitive towards other people’s feelings. They forget that people don’t think the same. Some people may not think of smart-shaming as a big thing, but to those who have fragile hearts- people who already are being abused verbally or physically – smart-shaming adds to the pains and burdens that their fragile hearts carry. Perhaps so fragile that it may take only a few more smart-shaming, abusive words before their worlds get shattered.

Making people feel bad about themselves is never funny. We have to be responsible for every word that comes out of our mouth. Words, once spoken, cannot be taken back and It might be too late to regret when we see the consequences.

And to people who have been victims of smart-shaming, there’s no reason to lose one’s self-confidence. Destructive criticisms should not be taken seriously. Only those who have little minds resort to such do such criticisms. Be open, however, to constructive criticism because these are meant to help one improve.

Not everything trendy is good. We need to discern whether a statement will make us better persons or not.

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