Stop Talking About Gabbie Hanna.

It is absolutely absurd for the entire internet to try and change the behavior of just one person.

I’m not interested in recapping the current “Gabbie Hanna situation.” I don’t believe it serves you or me or the individual at the center of the “situation” to hammer on the details. And plainly, it is not what I am interested in talking about.

Either you will know what I am talking about or you will seek out information on your own and come to your own conclusions.

What you do need to know—if you are unaware—is Gabbie Hanna has posted around a hundred TikToks in roughly a 24 hour span. Many of the TikToks and tweets I’ve seen in response talk about how “harmful” or “scary” or “dangerous” it is or how this may be a mental health crisis.

Here’s the thing everyone seems to be forgetting: It’s none of our business.

You and I will never know what happens right before and right after someone hits record and posts on the internet. We’re never going to really know what is going on, and it drives us so unbelievably crazy that we speculate, commentate, diagnose, pass judgement, and decide what the “truth” really is on behalf of someone we don’t fucking know.

What is arguably more dangerous than one person saying “crazy” things on the internet is a dozen or a hundred or thousands of other individuals talking about the “crazy” things in a cacophony of trending topics and hashtags.

“Oh, I’m tired of seeing so-and-so post crazy shit and it show up on my For You Page.”

“Oh, I wish this person would disappear from the internet.”

“Oh, doesn’t so-and-so know they should quit making content and posting on social media.”

“Oh, the platforms should really do something about this and make it so someone can’t post this kind of stuff.”

“Oh, this is soooo harmful and triggering to some people, we gotta protect them from so-and-so!”

First off, why would you ever trust a platform to “protect” you from anything and act like you have no control whatsoever over the content you consume? And I’m talking to you, the grown-ass adult. Not the child or teenager who, yes, should have guidance and education and support when it comes to navigating the fucked-up opinions of strangers on the internet (a la Andrew Tate).

But the responsibility of what I allow myself to consume and engage with falls on me. Same goes for you, so act like it.

The culture of responsive, judgey commentary on TikTok is incredibly toxic and problematic. At the height of the “Womb Lands” drama, I saw the same repetitive recap from dozens of different creators over and over and over again. I saw creators inserting themselves in a situation that had nothing to do with them. I saw a lot of “I know someone with this mental illness act this way or that.” A lot of “wow, this situation is problematic” with a tone of “we gotta make this person stop being this way.”

We love a good story. More than that, we are feral for drama. And drama online? Well, anyone can insert themselves into the story just by talking about it. And here we are, fetishizing the circle jerk to internet drama rage porn.

Instead of harping on how “dangerous” someone or some content is, why not remind your audience how to actually “protect” themselves from something harmful or triggering or obnoxious?

You can block accounts. You can tell the algorithm you’re not interested in certain subjects and posts. You can mute conversations and filter keywords.

It may seem obvious and tedious and dull and way too simple…but you can take control over what you see and consume. And if any one of these creators actually mean it when they say they’re concerned for those consuming certain content, then they would be actually fucking helpful. Remind them, inform them that the option to block an account isn’t reserved just for your ex or Karen co-workers.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe there are people out there trying to be helpful and intentional with the content they decide to share or comment on. But there is a rampant sloppiness when it comes to using a situation as a jumping-off point for commentary content.

I have zero business speculating or commenting on someone else’s mental well-being based off of what they post online, and the majority of the folks who are talking about it have no business doing so either.

I really do mean this earnestly, sincerely, and with a lot of tough love: stop talking about the drama of “the problem” and find something useful to say instead. And if you don’t have anything better to say, don’t say anything at all. Post a meme, like your best friend’s selfie, put down your phone, go outside, pet a dog, check the mail—literally anything else besides sharing half-hearted opinions would be better.

The idea that someone sharing anything online is an invitation to get involved is something I will not accept or perpetuate (and this is my hill to die on, so come at me, bro).

I don’t care if things are the way they are because that’s *how it has always been—*it is a made-up, unspoken, stupid-as-shit “rule” we collectively agreed to.

You don’t have to say anything about the drama.

You don’t have to give your opinion.

You don’t have to keep watching so-and-so’s content.

Ah, but that’s the thing, maybe you keep watching it so you can have something to say, no?

It is undeniable Gabbie Hanna is one of many internet personalities whose name gets clicks, views, and unwarranted clout for “reporting” on the drama. I’m not a fan of hers, I don’t agree with a lot of things she has said or done in the public forum of the internet, but I will defend her as a whole ass human I do not know personally.

Bottom line: leave her the fuck alone and find something better to say. And stop victimizing yourself or the preverbal “audience” as if content creators are destructive forces that need to be stopped and we are all just oh so helpless.

We are not victims of Gabbie Hanna or any other creator you have some problem with. Because it is absolutely absurd for (what feels like) the entire internet to try and change the behavior of just one person.