Anyone who has spent any time on the internet this year can confirm that this year has been the year of clap backs. What makes a clap back a great one? When the response is so epic, it goes viral. This year Nigerians have had a swell time circulating these on Twitter and Instagram. In a way, it elevated and distracted the minds of the people from every other thing that the country has been passing through.
One of the main reasons the trolls began to garner attention was when celebrities decided they weren’t having it anymore. If you ‘came at them’ with a hate comment, they were going to clap back. Across the shores it started with Chrissy Teigen replying a lot of her Twitter comments.
Then Kate Henshaw for the first time lost her calm social media persona and clapped back at a follower who called her ‘ugly’ and dubbed her a ‘man’. All of a sudden 2017 was dubbed ‘The Year of the Clapback’
Before we look at a few of the most hilarious and brilliantly worded clap backs of the year, why do people troll people especially celebrities online?
Trolling is where people mostly with a fake account send hate comments to others. Hiding behind their screens to say what they would not ordinarily say to them face-to-face. Does freedom of speech especially online where you can’t be seen, mean one can or should say anything? Granted some of these comments may have some truth in them, but do you necessarily have to point out shortcomings publicly and in a hateful manner?
The internet has really encouraged this attitude and it has slowly become mainstream. This is a fact we have to accept as more and more of our lives play out on Social media.
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The trend was also brought into the limelight when Fawking Fisher who handled the EFCC twitter account then was noticed for giving followers epic sarcastic responses. Before Nigerians knew who handled the account, we all imagined someone in such a huge government entity giving these responses. They were really funny and intelligent and made the EFCC account trend.
Here’s a look at some of the clap backs that have made us laugh hysterically in 2017.
In general, the clap back culture has come to stay. Like it or not, when you put it out there on social media, someone will come for you. It’s left for you to decide to clap back or ignore. But if you want to clap back, be sure it’s strong and intelligent and give us something to laugh over. Going viral with clap backs was the trend this year; it will be interesting to see what 2018 has to offer.
Comment below to let us know some of the most hilarious clap backs you’ve heard this year.
