Let’s talk about social media. It’s an almost integral part of society at this point. People use it for news, finding new businesses to support, finding jobs, and keeping up with their friends and families. Politicians, city officials, and celebrities use social media to keep us informed with their latest ideas, moves, and projects. And in our wrestling community, we use it to find other fans, watch feuds play out, and connect with our favorite wrestlers. It’s that last one we’re going to talk about today.
While some wrestlers are understandably guarded when it comes to their personal lives (like Asuka and her possible child), others have chosen to grant us glimpses into their beyond-the-ring realities. I love to see my favorite wrestlers’ hobbies, gaming setups, cooking, tattoos, and families. I know they don’t have to do that and I’m grateful for those that do. But an increasing number of fans with no emotional control are making it difficult for the rest of us to enjoy these things.
There’s an incredibly long list of transgressions but most recently has been the creepy obsession with Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch’s unborn child, Roman Reigns’ new set of twins, and the Bella Twins’ newborn sons. All over social media people have been creating edits, writing think pieces, and creating video contents about these wrestlers’ real lives. It’s weird and sick and borderline psychotic. The harassment is to the point that some wrestlers, Becky Lynch included, have completely abandoned some social media platforms.
While it’s nice to occasionally be invited into our faves’ lives, we need to learn to be respectful as fans. Wrestlers are not their characters 24/7; they are real people with real lives and families. You wouldn’t want to log onto your social media platforms and see hundreds of invasive questions or detailed photo manipulations about your family so it is no way appropriate to do it to them. If you want to talk wrestling, talk wrestling. But leave the wrestler’s home and family out of the conversation. Period.
