Here’s Why Complaining On Social Media Can Be Bad Idea
Andie MacDowell has come under fire after complaining on Twitter that she was forced to sit in “tourist” class on a flight after paying for a first-class seat.
“HELP I paid for first class & they put me in tourist because of my dog that I pre-booked & paid for,” the 57-year-old actress wrote, alongside a photo of her smiling next to fellow passengers.
And online reactions weren’t kind.
MacDowell backtracked, saying she’s “very happy flying in coach. I’m happy on a bus or the subway, but if I pay for first class, that’s where I want to be.”
After replying to a series of tweets, MacDowell finally wrote “Lesson learned. Never complain on Twitter & don’t pay for first class on American Airlines, only express gratitude…can we move on now.”
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Wise advice? “It depends on the situation,” clinical psychologist Suzana E. Flores, PsyD, author of” Facehooked: How Facebook Affects Our Emotions, Relationships, and Lives,” tells Yahoo Health.
Flores points out that you need to be aware of how your post might be received. If you write about your frustration with a faulty product, you’re less likely to receive heat as if you were to say, write that you’re mad that you had to take the subway because no cabs were available — the latter of which implies that you think you’re above it.
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And language matters, too. Flores says MacDowell got into trouble because she talked about status (and it didn’t help that she initially referred to coach class as “tourist” class).
But clinical psychologist John Mayer, PhD, tells Yahoo Health that social media can be a “great coping mechanism” for people who are frustrated. Celebrities, however, are a different story.
“People love, love, love to criticize those they feel are more privileged and have luxuries that they don’t have — that’s basic human envy,” he says. “Celebrities need to be very cautious of what they complain about.”
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People often post complaints on social media because they want validation that they’re right and someone else is wrong, says Flores, and sometimes they’re successful in getting just that.
But overall, she says it’s not a smart idea: “You’re setting yourself up for backlash.”
People can become particularly outraged when they see something on social media because it feels like it’s in our personal space. “This update is occurring on my phone in my home, therefore, I feel compelled to either defend or refute something that affects me personally,” Flores says.
And often the reactions are part of a much larger issue. In MacDowell’s case, people who were upset by her tweet the most may feel outrage at privileged individuals — and that gets directed at MacDowell because she made it clear that she’s one of them.
So, when is it OK to complain on social media? Flores says it can be positive when someone is being hurt, for example after a mass killing or after people are swindled.
But if you have a problem with a company or product, Flores recommends just calling customer service: “Direct communication is best.”
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