Becoming a journalist requires developing an unbiased point of view on most celebrity phenomena, perhaps a standard I have always put on myself. I’ve often found myself wondering whether this was true of other writers?

I write about culture – films and fashion primarily – and over the past few years, I’ve become increasingly struck by the level of hatred hurled at figures in the public eye. People such as 25-year-old actress Hania Aamir seem to attract witless jeers from all corners of social media, something which came to a head for me when I read countless comments, viciously rebuking her appearance, clothes, accent, acting and anything that she might have posted.

Public scrutiny of celebrities is hardly a new phenomenon, but it seems in recent years to have become much more ingrained and bitter, to the extent that one’s very personality becomes a target. Such pernicious behaviour illustrates, in stark terms, the toxic state of celebrity culture today and the way in which we interact with it.

It would be easy to think that these controversies are representative of the social mores of the time, but in many ways, they display innate frustration and bitterness prevalent in our society today. Consider the stigma that’s still attached to celebrity relationships, where even hugging your husband can garner backlash that escalates to death threats or even hurls of abuse. To think Sadaf Kanwal and Shehroz Sabzwari still get dragged around town for merely choosing to get married after the latter’s divorce. It is the highly public nature of this public scrutiny, more so than anything the stars have done, that’s problematic. We’ve developed a culture that polices people’s behaviours mercilessly. We may not be obliged to like or approve of someone’s actions, but we are so swift to condemn that we don’t seem to notice the effects of such negativity. Loud, vocal hatred of something is often more acceptable than liking it. We’re so busy broadcasting our latest cultural disdain that we scantly notice anything we enjoy. We derive a twisted satisfaction from the act of hating. There’s a drastic difference between a controlled environment and facing a baying mob of haters and trolls. The latter is stressful and could easily knock someone’s composure, yet our reaction is more often to mock and deride, rather than empathise.

You may be irritated by someone, dislike them as an actor or a singer or disapprove of something they’ve said – You’re entitled to feel that way. But are you entitled to viciously belittle and verbally assault someone because they don’t have a megawatt smile plastered or present perfectly all the time? Does this not feed a much more pervasive and perverse form of public scrutiny, one that places an impossible standard on people who are just as human as the rest of us?

It’s easy to overlook, especially due to their success, looks, or wealth, the fact that celebrities are people. We are essentially casting our negative eyes upon ourselves. Public figures may have stylists to pick their outfits and publicists to mould their image, but the impossible standards of beauty and perfection to which they aspire stem from the endless harsh scrutiny we place upon them. To slip up is to become fodder for the public frustration, something we as consumers contribute to every time we click on a sensationalised headline or share an uncalled for comment assuming it is harmless fun.

This may seem harmless, but we are feeding a toxic cycle. Every time we send a sneering tweet or comment, we are normalising harsh judgement and extreme reactions. It may not seem like it, but there’s not a huge stretch between berating a young actress for “not wearing appropriate clothes” or targeting someone on Facebook for dancing happily. To claim it is legitimate because celebrities put themselves in the public eye is an extension of the repugnant victim-blaming culture rampant in our society. Besides, I don’t think anyone asked to have a photographer hanging in a tree outside their house just because they appeared in a successful movie or TV Drama.

For me, personally, I find this disillusioning. There’s nothing I love more than conversation, but it is increasingly difficult to have meaningful discourse in a culture where people are all but pre-disposed to hatred. Criticism is a necessary part of the discussion, but only where it is reasoned, informed, and constructive. Idealistic as it sounds, I would rather focus on people’s artistry than their private life, and not have to grimace at the thought of the comment section before I’ve even finished reading the article. Mob mentality in public opinion may not be anything new, but it often feels as though we build people up just so we can tear them down.