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Star2, FRIDAY 26 APRIL 2013

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Every social media platform

has its own set of annoying
trends.

Annoying

the Internet

What are some of

Malaysians most unbearable
social media habits?

By MELLY LING
alltherage@thestar.com.my

Trending

#Gwiyomi

The latest YouTube dance fad has been

picking up over the last month. But
does everyone think its that cute?
... i really wish celebrities knew how to
count beyond six :(
... No, girls. Acting like a half-wit is NOT
cute. #Gwiyomi
... Seriously #Gwiyomi is so NOT A
TREND AND NOT A DANCE. You only
move your hands & your head moves a
little too.
#JusticeForGwiyomiAndKpopFans
... Gwiyomi wasnt made for everyone.
Okay? Trust me. Its so annoying to see
feeling cute gwiyomi players all over
my Facebook newsfeed :/
... Perhaps cuteness will never be
obsolete.

UST over a month ago, world-famous

American YouTuber Ryan Higa, better
known as Niga Higa, posted a video
titled Most Annoying People On The
Internet, now better known simply as
MAPOTI.
The video, with close to six million hits
now, talks about people like ninja boasters,
over-zealous hashtaggers, trolls and many
more. Not sure what those are? Well trust
us, theyre annoying.
These days, its not just about people who
type rude or annoying messages on chatrooms any more. According to digital media
and culture consultant Niki Cheong, there
are many different platforms on the Internet
now, each with its own set of user behaviours (translation: each with its own set of
MAPOTI).
Its no different among Malaysian social
media users, some of the most prolific in the
world. Heres a list we compiled of some of
the trends on social media now that have
been annoying Malaysians.

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Star2, FRIDAY 26 APRIL 2013

R.AGE

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Ninja boasters
Were sure many of you have seen photos of people
showing off their fabulous lifestyles party photos,
branded goods, flashy cars, etc. and pretending that
theyre just regular posts. They go like, Today is a
beautiful day! Happy Sunday! #ootd #pretty #chanelbag, and the Chanel bag just happens to be the focus
of the photo.
That act is called a ninja boast, something which
accessory designer Harmini Asokumar (right), 24,
does regularly, but only because of her job. She often
posts photos of her outfits and hashtags the different
brands shes wearing, and people have complained
to her that it comes off as pretentious.
It really doesnt make a difference to me. If I was
a celebrity like Beyonce Instagram-ing about shopping in
London, nobody would say Im showing off. I guess its all subjective,
she said.

iSnap me to watch Ryan Higas MAPOTI video.

Super selfies
Everyone on social media would have
some friends who keep bombarding people
with photos of themselves, usually shot by
themselves and at the most flattering angle
possible. These annoying photos are called
selfies.
Creative director Shaiful Ayisy said selfies are now unavoidable on social media.
Like em or not, youll just have to deal with
them.
Some selfies are okay provided the
subject is good looking, he said jokingly.
Its more annoying when their captions
are unrelated. For example, a photo of a
girl pouting at the camera, along with the
caption When life gives you lemons....
#Annoying.
But Ayisy said as much as these people
annoy him, he wouldnt unfollow them,
because god forbid it might hurt some of
their feelings.
Blogger and YouTube actress Charis Ow,
on the other hand, thinks taking selfies is
just some harmless fun.
Theres nothing wrong with taking photos of yourself. For me, I always like posting
photos of my outfits, said the 22-year-old
mass communications student, who uses
Instagram (and other selfies) to find fashion
inspiration and stay in trend.

Foodie fanatics

The ultimate Malaysian Internet sin

taking photos of your food. Its alright if
youre about to tuck into some spectacular
dish that you think is worth a share. But
doing it for like every other meal? Thats

annoying!
Foodie shots on social media really irritates writer Ian Loh, 25, and its not because
he hates food its because they appear
way too often on his Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram newsfeeds.
Nobody cares what youre eating.
Especially when youre posting a picture of
very, very expensive meal, it actually seems
kind of snobbish, said Loh.
Brand executive Danny New is fully
aware how people like Loh feel, but he still
enjoys posting foodie photos.
I dont really care much because its up
to me what I want to post, said New, 24. I
have a few other foodie friends who appreciate food-related post. Its a good way to
share about new places to eat.

Terrible trolls

This is something most bloggers and

YouTubers are familiar with. There will
always be people out there who have nothing better to do but post ugly, hateful comments. These people are commonly known
as trolls.
With these people, its never a matter of
fair comment or constructive criticism. Its
just abusive messages, something were
seeing more of now that the general election is near.
For Ow, getting trolled comes with the
territory of being a YouTube personality.
She gets horrible comments all the time
on her videos. These days, shes pretty
much immune to it.
I just reply politely and thank them for
their feedback, tell them Ill try to improve,
she said.

BACK in the early days of the

Internet, annoying users were mostly confined to people who were rude
in chatrooms or forums, and people
who forwarded chain mails.
These days, its not so much that
people are becoming more annoying
on the Internet there are just more
ways people can get annoyed.
There are so many different
platforms now. You have Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram... Users on each
platform will have their own set
of behaviours, and something that
might be common on one platform,
like hashtags on Instagram, might be
annoying if you see it on a different
platform, like Facebook, said digital
culture consultant Niki Cheong.
Cheong isnt a big fan of the idea
of social media netiquette, because
the whole point of these kinds of
platforms is that people are allowed
to use them as they see fit. And if you
dont like how someone uses it, you
can always unfollow them.
Whats annoying anyway? Its a
very subjective thing, he said. The
only rule or netiquette Id suggest is
that people stop and think about the
information theyre about to share.
Users should think whether the
source of it is authentic and credible.
There are apps you can download, like Winnow, TweetAgora or
Twitterlator Pro, that allow you to
mute certain friends or even key-

words.
So lets say youre sick and tired
of a friend who keeps ninja boasting about his/her #OOTD (outfit of
the day), and you dont want to risk
unfollowing him/her in case that
ruins a perfectly fine offline friendship.
An app like Winnow would allow
you to filter all tweets containing the #OOTD hashtag. You will
still be friends with that friend, but
you wont have to deal with the
annoying amateur fashion updates.
Relationship crisis averted.
Facebook obviously knew annoying
people were putting off some of their
users, because theyve allowed them
to filter the kind of updates they get
from individual followers. YouTube
too, have tightened up, requiring user
to use real names. No pseudonyms
allowed. It wont keep the best trolls
down (because you can just create a
fake name), but at least its a deterrent.
Social media consultant Teoh Mei
Ying, however, believes Malaysians
definitely need help when it comes to
maintaining some form of etiquette
on social networks.
Many people think the Internet
is some kind of lawless place where
they can just say anything and everything. There should be a certain code
on being polite on social media, said
Teoh.