Cushioning the split
Broadcasting news of a breakup or divorce on Twitter can actually help heal, say celebs
By : gautam sunder
Update: 2015-09-19 08:12 GMT
Has Twitter become the new medium to announce divorces? Social media has long been a channel for celebrities to share updates on their love lives, marriages or important relationship updates — but of late, the posts have become rather unsettling.
From Bollywood actors Konkana Sen Sharma and Ranvir Shorey announcing their separation after five years of marriage stating they would remain friends to co-parent their son, south Indian star Kichcha Sudeep requesting his fans to give him some space and thanking the media for support, to our own VJ/ actress Ramya Subramanian putting all the rumours to rest, Twitter seems to be the easiest way for celebs to break the news.
Ramya, who tied the knot last February, says she saw nothing wrong in tweeting about the issue, sensitive as it may be, as she considers all her followers part of her extended family. “It has been a trying time, but I wanted to put it on record out there for all the gossip to stop. Even earlier, when I’ve had a bad day, I’ve turned to Twitter to cheer me up! In fact, after the post on my divorce, I got tons of well-wishers writing to me with their best intentions.”
She also wants to clarify that it was not her entry into films that resulted in the split, “Actually, I’d moved out just 10 days after my marriage. But you know how these things in India work — the legal proceedings and discussions took over a year. My decision to become an actress had nothing to do with the divorce. Honestly, OK Kanmani came as a godsend for me at a time in my life when things were quite depressing. Now I’m looking to take on more meaningful projects,” she states.
Veteran actress Raadhika Sarathkumar adds that it’s completely okay to talk about personal issues such as these online, as long as there’s a limit, “Isn’t it better this way to talk openly about personal news than have people speculate needlessly? Of course, I’ve always maintained a strict buffer, on how far you can stretch reaching out to the public.”
There does exist the problem of people misunderstanding the news, says Smruthi Nair, psychotherapist at Synapse. “But then again, that’s a given with social media as there are always going to be trolls out there. Posting about a divorce can be a positive thing as long as both partners have agreed on the decision — such as Konkana and Ranvir, who both tweeted about it amicably. Twitter has provided us with an equal platform to reach out to others — why not make the best use of such technology?” she quips.
And this also reduces the chances of having awkward or emotional social interactions, says model, life coach and image consultant Rishita Sawlani, “This way, not only your friends, but the hundreds of other acquaintances you have in the industry know to not broach the topic with you, instead of giving in to their curiosity! For instance, I got engaged recently, and all it took was a picture online to shut down all the gossip about my relationship status. I think it’s brilliant that we have this avenue now, and people are being courageous enough to explore it.”