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Over the past week a sentiment has been circulating social media: ‘In a world where you can be anything, be kind’. As the name of our magazine, being kind is the mantra we stand by, the backbone of our ethics and the message we try and share with our readers each month. Kindness should be something that fuels all of our actions, the way we treat strangers, our friends and our colleagues. But it seems kindness is no longer our default response – it has become something we need to remind ourselves to do, a trigger to thwart our alternative, perhaps, unkind reply. And there is nowhere else this is more evident than on the internet.
We learned of the tragic death of Caroline Flack on 15th February, a bright and talented TV presenter who ended her life at the age of 40. Her passing saw an enormous response across social media, with many calling out the press for her unfair treatment and internet ‘trolls’ for their relentless and targeted abuse. Flack received a lot of negativity online and intense media scrutiny on all aspects of her life, from her past relationships to her most recent ones. It was after an incident with her boyfriend, Lewis Burton, in December 2019 that the press began sharing incredibly personal and intimate details about her. With this level of intrusion and the subsequent stress this caused, for some it seemed her death was inevitable. Actress, Jameela Jamil, commented: “It was only a matter of time before the media and a prolonged social media dogpile, hers lasted for MONTHS, pushed someone completely over the edge.”