#IHateHashtags

I cannot stand the use of hash tags. For those of you unfamiliar with what a hash tag is, it is a statement or word following the prefix #, such as #YOLO or #IwanttheworldtothinkI’mfourteen. What began only a couple of years ago as a way to link or tag comments and posts has regressed into the most over-used and blatant way to show one’s stupidity and need for acknowledgement. The original use of hash tags, popularized during the Iranian election protests,  has become my largest source of annoyance any time I log onto a social network site. The use of hash tags themselves are not the issue, and often can add as sort of a secondary caption to a comment or photo, but their overuse is unbearable.  They dominate my Facebook newsfeed, especially since Facebook took control of Instagram, a site seemingly dedicated to turn every person into a photographer and to further promote the use of this atrocity. I can’t imagine a better way to express to the world you that are intellectually inferior than tagging a picture of yourself, say, enjoying a drink on a beach with #herecomesthesun, #drinkdrankdrunk, #whitegirlwasted #summertime, bestdayeva, #summervacay, #imisswearingshortsthatrevealtoomuchskin. So many times the message people are trying to convey could have just as easily, and more effectively, been stated in simple English language instead of massacring  it into a half-thought, lazy caption broken up by inappropriate punctuation and symbols. I can’t stand it.

I dated a girl for a while, and after we ended it she developed an interest in Instagram. In a matter of weeks, my Facebook news feed went from occasional posts from her containing interesting information about her life and career to over-edited photos, from a site I didn’t request to browse through, that had so many hash tags I couldn’t remember what the original caption was. It eventually got to the point where I had to “hide” her posts to avoid losing respect for her as a person.

After repeated exposure, the overuse and misuse of hash tags speaks deeply to me as a judgement of character and intelligence. Maybe one day everyone will be effectively utilize the tools we have available online, and their need to be noticed will no longer blind them to seeing just how annoying it can be when they feel the need to resurrect old jokes and over caption things in hopes of getting a few more “likes”. But I doubt it.

This blog is a hash tag free zone.