Reality TV & Social Media: Too Close for Comfort (BB edition)

In this day and age, with social media, the lines are completely blurred between celebrity and fan. We can connect ourselves with the click of a button and some will convince themselves that because so and so has a Twitter and they follow you, favorite what you say, tweet you back etc, that means they're your best friend. Some also believe that because so and so has a Twitter, you can and should tell them exactly how you feel about everything they do, even personally. Neither is the case.

It's the worst for reality stars, I think. I can understand being invested in a show and the characters on it but reality tv deals with real people. Take "Big Brother" for example. It's not just a show that comes on 3 nights a week for an hour. You can sign up and literally follow the houseguests everywhere but to the toilet via the live feeds (yes, even the shower.) It's always been that way and that had to be hard enough. Now add social media to it and everyone has an opinion on everything going on in the house and will not hesitate to share it, usually in a less than tactful way, with everyone including the houseguests' accounts and their families.

This is America and we are all entitled to our opinion and to have our First Amendment right of Freedom of Speech. However, meddling into other people's business and telling them what you think they should do is ridiculous, whether you're trying to save one from a mistake or vilify another. It's crossing a line big time.

I already see it with Big Brother Houseguests Paulie Calafiore and Zakiyah Everette. The two like each other and every time they fight or something goes awry between them, people are tweeting Zakiyah's family about how horrible they feel for her and saying how she needs to basically be saved. On the other side of the coin, you have people creating what was a viral hashtag of #WeHatePaulieCalafiore and tweeting his family about how they and he should be ashamed and what a horrible person they think he is. These same fans/haters are prepared to send both houseguests and their families clips from the live feeds of the show to justify their perspectives and opinions. I even got a tweet today, even though I'm just a fan, asking me if my brain was also paralyzed (I have Spina Bifida, so I'm paralyzed below the knee) because I support Paulie. Like, really? I'm not the one whose brain needs to be examined. I support both of them together and individually and that's just all there is to it.

When you're locked in a house all summer playing a game that's basically one big mind fuck for $500,000, that can be overwhelming in and of itself. Then to come out and have support flooded your way can be even more overwhelming. But to have hate and deep opinions on what you should do with your life coming at you non stop? That's way over the top, crossing the line ridiculous and people should really back off and not have an end goal of someone shutting down their account because of you. It's NOT anyone's place to do that. Shit like that is what drives celebrities to drink, literally.

We know the actual families and friends of the Big Brother houseguests are watching the live feeds. If they want to take things up with them and bring certain things to their attention after the show, fine. If not and they'd like to move on, that's fine too. But it's not the place of Joe Schmo or Jane Doe, someone who the houseguests wouldn't know if you paid them to identify the person, to do that. Stay in your lane!