When it comes to social media, anyone and everyone can become a target to the trolls who spew rapid hate-filled comments on profiles just for attention. Celebrities are often an easy target for cyber-bullies and the latest one under attack is Girls star, Lena Dunham. This time though, it's from an unlikely source, a 9-year-old. In response, Dunham has called it quits on Twitter, even though she is keeping her Instagram account.
Dunham has made a name for herself in Hollywood for being outspoken and often controversial. She refused to fall into the societal norms of Hollywood beauty and instead embraced the body she was born with. While fans of the 29-year-old find her inspiring, not everyone supports her actions.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Dunham recalled an incident of a 9-year-old girl calling her a "whore" on Instagram. The actress explained why she ultimately decided to quit Twitter, but continues to run her Instagram account.
Dunham, who also serves as an author, director and producer, was a huge fan of Twitter and Instagram, until the "verbal abuse" became too much for her. After receiving a string of nasty responses to her Twitter and a derogatory term spewed at her from a child (which was actually misspelled), Dunham knew it was time to make a change.
"Even if you think, like, 'Oh I can read, like, 10 mentions that say I should be stoned to death' and kind of, like, laugh and move on," Dunham said last week on the Re/code Decode podcast. "That's verbal abuse. Those aren't words that should be directed at you ever. And so, for me personally, it was safer to stop [using Twitter]."
Instagram still has a soft spot in her heart. Even though Instagram is filled with cyber trolls too, the screenwriter believes it's a much safer space for her to interact in. Dunham doesn't hold any grudges toward the young girl who called her a "whore." After investigating her page, she found out it wasn't filled with other vitriol.
So how does she manage to still stay active on social media? Dunham admitted she does still write her own tweets, but she allows someone else to send them. Ironically, she doesn't even know her own password anymore.
"The presence of images and no character limits creates a much less toxic environment," Dunham told host Katie Couric and Instagram founder and CEO Kevin Systrom. "The environment [on Twitter] became so hostile that it couldn't possibly be okay for me to be reading this stuff."
Reporting someone's negative comments and/or graphics is another way the actress is taking charge of her personal pages. Dunham revealed she has way too much fun reporting people's nasty behavior.
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