Zeenat Aman Addresses Culture of Easy Outrage Following Live-In Advice: 'People Say Cruel Things'

Zeenat Aman, who rose to fame and captured the attention of Gen Z following her debut on Instagram last year, took a break from social media for approximately two weeks. Now, nearly 15 days later, the veteran actress has made a return with a new insightful post addressing the prevalent culture of easy outrage on online platforms. She highlighted how some individuals casually express cruel remarks online that they wouldn’t dare to utter in person.

In her most recent post, the actress indirectly tackled a pressing issue. Zeenat shared a photo of herself wearing a lovely summer dress on her Instagram account last Friday. Alongside the image, she wrote, “I took an unplanned social media break. Mostly because I got tired of seeing my own face on my grid! This time to myself really led me to ruminate on how different the world is today from when I started out. It’s quite unrecognisable from what I lived through in the 70s.”

She went on to express her fascination with the impact of the internet, particularly social media, on society. Zeenat acknowledged the positives and negatives of this technological shift, “I am fascinated by what the internet, and more specifically social media, has done to society. There are both pros and cons of course. At some level, social media has democratised the idea of fame. Today, anyone with a little talent, luck and a smartphone can build a career that would have been impossible without immense privileges back in the day. Yes, there’s a lot of online noise, but there is also honest talent that now has a platform,” she added.

However, she also pointed out her concerns regarding the prevalent culture of easy outrage on the internet. Zeenat highlighted how some people readily make hurtful comments online that they would never dare say face-to-face. She expressed,”On the other hand I am very cautious of the culture of easy outrage that has proliferated online. And how casually some people say cruel things online that they would never dare say in person. To me this indicates a bored society that has forgotten how nuanced the world, and each person in it, is! To invalidate, tear down, and sully people for the smallest of indiscretions is absolutely counter to my approach, which is dialogue, and sometimes the acceptance that opinions can differ, and that’s okay. That’s it. My honest two cents for the day. I hope your Friday is wonderful. What are your plans?”

This recent post follows one made by Zeenat over a month ago, where she suggested that young people consider living together before deciding to marry. However, her advice, coming from the 72-year-old star, received backlash and stirred up controversy. Former stars such as Saira Banu and Mumtaz openly expressed their disapproval of Zeenat’s suggestion and criticized her stance.