Why I love ‘comments’ more than the post itself

Recently, I commented admiring the wit and wisdom in a post about the coffee ritual in Bengaluru on the Instagram handle of a khadi-based brand that I have personally known for a decade. Two days later, a young man who had passed out of the University of Massachusetts replied to my comment saying that the post was AI enhanced. He listed out his reasons, warily and with humility -- the rule of third and the word order that was consistently maintained in each paragraph. After he had pointed it out, I sat with the prose for a good while and saw his logic. I was compelled to keep aside my own assumptions, test it against the evidence presented and revise my opinion.

Ten days before that, I chanced upon a post on Madras checks and its unavailability in Fabindia stores as an example of selective stocking. I for one, who had burnt her hands many times with my candid posts on handlooms and comments could not resist this one and commented on how it was dubbed ‘bleeding’ Madras checks and about Captain Krishnan Nair of the Leela Hotels fame who made his fortune from the trade of such checks. It was a long comment on the supply chain issues in the handloom sector, quality control and history of the fabric. Here too, the young person, who made the post, went through my comment carefully, tested it against what she had written and accepted my comment, with grace. 

In both cases, it was strangers joining hands on a post to comment, deepen the understanding of the topic at hand and clear doubts. In both, I was conversing with people much younger than I was. I was the student in one and teacher in another with no permanent role assigned. We had met briefly on a point, shaken hands and parted ways just as suddenly, but leaving both sides better off. There was neither argument nor desire to win the other over to your side, which had a philosophical quality as set forth by Socrates. In Plato’s Phaedo, Socrates states that it is only the uneducated who have an eagerness to get the better of the other in an argument.

Elenchus, the Socratical method is the gentle and joint pursuit to reach the heart of the matter -- prodding, nudging, asking honest questions and searching for the truth together. Eristic method, on the contrary, is when you argue for argument’s sake, a genre, that is all too familiar in our Whatsapp groups. Both co-exist in social media interactions today.

I love the intergenerational dialogue that today’s social media promotes. The anonymity is both liberating and enchanting. Liberating because you know the interaction is casual though not non-serious. Enchanting because there is a nuanced exchange across the platform, which brings in textual theory and experiential testing. One is free to form conclusions. Central to this phenomenon is the collective pursuit of truth and justice, an obligation to the community, one that dates back to the origin of civilization itself, this time through social media posts, comments, likes and follows. Public debates albeit aided by technology.

I belong to a generation that went into classrooms, where implicit acceptance of teacher’s monologues was insisted on. It was given the name of good conduct and discipline. Critically questioning an idea was met with lectures on the autological ‘it is what it is’. It was unthinkable in our times to correct someone older. For there was power in the hands of the older, and correcting or questioning them had consequences. This is true where power hierarchies are maintained-- whether in work spaces, homes or education. There is a reason why hate was showered on Virus in Three Idiots, for he believed in doling out consequences to those who challenged his authority.

Ever since Instagram introduced comments in a thread, allowing replies and more replies and making reels from comments feature, the comment section has never failed to disappoint. The girl squads are my favourite, who assemble like the Avengers to comment on their friend’s post. They are each other’s cheer leaders, the hype brigade who, with a medley of words and emojis, make their friends feel like modern day Queen (if the Queen is spelt with an extra dose of eee, better still). Then there is the educator, whose comment is better than the post itself-- where nuances are teased, experience is shared and there is no gatekeeping. Information and knowledge are free on the internet. 

Then there is the witty one, whose response to a reel is a succinct one liner that condenses meaning and adds a layer of humour. When Marriam Webster posted about ‘orphaned negatives’ (negative words that do not have a complimentary positive, say for example disgusting), majority of the comments were that the post left them whelmed. 

Then there is the kind celebrity, who comments on fan’s reels and makes their day. In February 2024, young Thaha Hassoon made a trending reel in which he wrote that if Tovino Thomas commented on his reel, he will go study. Soon enough, the star commented saying go sit and study son garnering close to 2 lac likes. More recently, Genii kamki @luccidforyou dancing to vanchindamma elicited enthusiastic responses both from Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda sending fans into collective delirium. 

The comment section has its own code of conduct. If you have nothing kind to comment, don’t comment at all, says one. It is a much-needed reminder amidst the trolls whose comments are abusive. People who comment regularly on your posts expect reciprocity. In this thankless world, like begets like and comment begets a comment. It is the mindfulness etiquette of social media. My heart goes out to those conscientious ones who take time out and reply to every comment on their posts. Impeccable manners, I would argue.

In the modern-day online pebbling where we are constantly sharing reels with each other, my friends and I often tell each other in particular to not leave the comments section. That is where the action truly lies. Even as technology and smart phones are driving us into loneliness, comments section is where one feels seen and heard. That thirty odd strangers liked your comment and have chosen to engage with it is an instant feeling of connection and camaraderie. You feel owned up and most importantly seen by a bunch who get you.