India is a funny country with no sense of humor. Our general perception of content is skewed majorly because we’re a country that has been raised by slapstick comedy. Internet has given a voice to every individual and we all are using it to defend our rights to have a healthy relationship with our imaginary friends for a few likes.
India needs better infrastructure, healthcare and education but all of that can wait because we’re on the brink of becoming a digital nation. Let’s put all our problems on one side because Digital India is a thing now.
1. We’ve called Chomsky a Nepali
How is it that a country that has to battle racism is also the most racist country in the world? We’ve called out Chomsky’s opinions because a Nepali should have nothing to do with our country.
2. Calling someone “gay” or giving sexual gaalis in the comment section automatically makes us win the argument
Sexuality in India is like nipples on a man. Everyone knows that they exist but nobody is ready to freely talk about it. How is calling someone “a gay” offensive? We’ve had a political battle of words between Azam Khan and Kamlesh Tiwari because of this exceptional piece of banter.
3. Kapil Sharma is the number 1 comedian in the country
Social and political satire in a diverse country like India should have been a norm but then we had Kapil Sharma grace the screen with his presence. We’re still struggling with Article 377 but for some weird reason we still find a cross-dresser funny. Since we can’t take a joke on ourselves, let’s become the joke instead.
4. We love having an opinion- even when we are misinformed
Opinions are like assholes. We like probing other assholes but when someone else decides to return the favour, we like running away from the argument. The Indian internet audience is extremely polarized on almost every topic. For every Bhindi related content on the internet, there is a group that’d hate on Bhindi in the comment section and then claim that Karela is better.
5. “Midnight Movies 4 u” is the most viewed YouTube Channel in India
Becoming a digital nation is a learning curve for every audience but we’re still stuck in the phase where we search for porn on YouTube. One of the biggest channels on YouTube is MidnightMovies4U only because of the huge consumption of softcore porn in our country. Why should any Indian YouTuber work hard on their content when a middle aged aunty with a lot of navel can get many more eyeballs on the internet?
6. We’re offended by everything
If you post a cat video on your facebook, some over-enthusiastic individuals will go on to say that you hate Dogs and then they’ll explain how Dogs are better than Cats. That’s how the Indian internet audience reacts to everything. We’re like an expansion pack for Tumblr.
7. We almost fell for “Free Basics”
Just because something has the word “free” in it, it doesn’t mean that it is absolutely necessary. All India Bakchod and other YouTubers came forward and popularised the Save the Internet campaign or we all would have easily fell for Mark Zuckerberg’s sly tactics.
8. We’ve basically ruined Kanhaiya Kumar and Umar Khalid’s life by Kangaroo courts on Social Media
A recent forensic report has finally proved that the videos, which were being considered as concrete proof of their “sedition”, is doctored. Will everyone who based their opinions on the doctored video take a step back and apologise for the charges? No. They’ll always be remembered as the guys who were involved in the anti-nationalist sloganeering at JNU.
9. Sending Death Threats to people is our jam
In 2012, the creative team of a show called “Jai Ho!” had to apologise for their killer spoof of Fauja Singh because of the constant flow of death threats. We don’t think twice before threatening someone with force fornication or death but these things have a massive impact on the psyche of the artists.
It’s definitely not the time to compare our audience with Saudi Arabia or Pakistan but if we don’t learn from our mistakes, we might lose out on a lot of quality content.