Did you ever post mean comments online?

Have you ever posted mean things online? Listen to three people talking about their experiences.

Instructions

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. Remember you can read the transcript at any time.

Transcript

Nick: Shamefully, the answer is yes. Growing up, I most definitely posted mean things online. Sometimes about complete strangers, sometimes about people I went to school with, and then other times, even about my friends!

De'Graft: I've definitely sent messages whereby, maybe an hour later, I've thought, hmm, should I have said that? And there are definitely things that I have said since then, which maybe years later I thought, hmm, I'm not, I'm not really happy with that.

Katie: I commented, 'This is the worst art, you're very rubbish', just being really mean. Not necessary, not needed.

Nick: Normally it was like an in-joke, or something that happened at school, or, you know, something that we'd been talking about.

Katie: The person commented back, saying that I'd really hurt their feelings. I started crying because I felt so guilty for saying such mean things.

De'Graft: If you ever post anything online that you do feel worried about, please make sure you talk to a trusted adult or maybe you might even want to talk to your friend.

Nick: It's all about how you deal with those things afterwards. You know, apologise to the person that you may have upset.

Katie: Don't comment mean things that you wouldn't say to someone in person.

Nick: If it's somebody that you know, let them understand why you did it. If it was a joke, you know, it's not an excuse but at least you're offering some kind of explanation.

De'Graft: Online life can be filled with loads of different surprises, but, remember, should anything throw you off, you can talk to an adult you trust or you can check out tips and advice from Own It.

© BBC

Discussion

What would you do if you posted a comment online and then you realised it was mean and hurtful?

Language level
Average: 4.3 (4 votes)
Personal online tutoring
EnglishScore Tutors is the British Council’s one-to-one tutoring platform for 13- to 17-year-olds.

Comments

Submitted by qcr7eren on Sun, 06/05/2022 - 18:34

If i did that, i dont regret

Submitted by Laura8 on Thu, 01/20/2022 - 12:37

I've nerver actually been really mean to anyone. So I don't see why I should be mean online. However, the fact that we're using a pseudo and are hidding behind a screen makes it easier to post comments or criticisms or anything without second thought. We may regret it, a few seconds, minutes or years later but well...that's life!

Submitted by Luis01234 on Thu, 10/28/2021 - 05:06

I think ive commented mean things to people but usually its to people that are saying dumb things its not an excuse but its better than if i were to do it to someone that hasnt done anything wrong

Submitted by PalomaShep on Tue, 10/26/2021 - 12:24

In my opinion, any comment that is not good or constructive is unnecessary, because you never know the impact it will have on people if you say something bad to them.

Submitted by cvillanuevah0305 on Sat, 10/23/2021 - 23:31

I´ve never poted a mean comment, cause we don´t know how could it affect the prerson or people that ir reading it. I think that we need to be conscious about what we are posting before doing it.

Submitted by Sleepy on Tue, 08/31/2021 - 16:02

I haven't really posted anything mean online, yet. But if in future I do something like that, I'll surely apologize.
Profile picture for user Andrii

Submitted by Andrii on Thu, 07/01/2021 - 11:57

If i did that, I would delete the comment, apologize, and tell that it was just a joke.

Submitted by G64 on Fri, 06/04/2021 - 12:14

I would but i won’t

Submitted by lolololololool on Mon, 03/22/2021 - 10:31

Hello, rly nice content. Like It! :DDDDDD Ps. from loloolllll

Submitted by raina on Sat, 02/27/2021 - 04:11

we shouldn't type mean comment, cause it's not good

Submitted by hermione123 on Wed, 01/27/2021 - 23:16

Honestly, I think I never posted a mean online comment. I'm cautious when I'm going to post a comment online. So, I'm not sure what I would do if I posted mean comment online, maybe say sorry to the person whom I commented on. Or tell someone if I feel guilty. And after that I will never post mean online comment ;)
English courses near you