The internet has really irked me this week.
Why have we accepted this culture of body shaming celebrities and excusing it as though they're not actually real people with real feelings that might actually get really hurt?
On social media sites many TV personalities/celebrities have pages for fans that they regularly update, use to promote their work and in some cases do a lot of good through.
I have been following Holly Willoughby because I actually quite like her daily posts detailing her outfits (I probably need to get a life!). She does post more than that, and I quite like it all. It's a nice page to have pop up on your news feed - not controversial or intense (although I follow plenty of those pages as well).
The comments section however is far from easy reading. Every other comment is someone pointing out what they perceive to be her flaws...
"Holly you looked better before you lost all that weight"
"You've lost your boobs, what are you going to known for now?" - let's see, how about being a successful TV presenter?
"You were bangable before you lost your curves". So now that Holly doesn't meet your narrow minded idea of attractive you won't consider having sex with her? I'm sure her husband is so relieved - not!
There are countless disgusting remarks made by real people sat behind keyboards with the misguided impression that this allows them to forget all sense of decency and respect.
Holly is a daughter, sister, wife, mother, successful career woman and author. She does not simply exist to be an outlet for other people's issues, insecurities and jealousy.
Another example I have seen in the last few weeks has been the debate over whether Gemma Atkinson has gained weight since she has been on Strictly Come Dancing... according to some viewers she shouldn't have because that's not normal. Well do you know what; it really is none of your business. It is a horrible opinion spouted by people who clearly lack basic manners.
Would we all be OK if Holly and Gemma used social media to tell us that we need to lose weight? Or that our boobs look crap?
If your answer is no, which I expect it will be, then think twice before you comment something unkind again.
Body shaming is not OK, we need to teach our children to have respect for their own bodies as well as others' bodies. Teenagers spend a lot of time online and the example being set by adults at the moment is questionable at best.
Also, it's not always about whether the celebrity in question reads the comments or not as I'm sure they don't read a lot of them. It's about that one comment perpetuating the idea that it's OK. If we saw less and less of those type of comments, I don't think we would be as brave in posting our own.
If you want to see a good example of supportive fans, then I would recommend Giovanna Fletcher's Facebook page. Since following it I haven't seen a single negative comment about Giovanna's body, who she is a parent or a person. So people it is possible - it is possible to control yourself and not contribute an unwanted opinion. If you do not like a particular celebrity then guess what? You don't have to follow them. It really is as simple as that, it will not have a detrimental effect on your health if you stop posting "you're fat" or you're too skinny" on social media. It may even cheer you up a bit - you never know!
I hope if you're reading this that you share it and challenge other people to make the online world a better place!