Is Ignoring on Social Media Now the Ultimate Snub?

By Natasha Hatherall-Shawe

This week reports were rife in the media that there are issues between Victoria Beckham and her new daughter in law Nicola Peltz as both women have appeared to ignore and snub each other on Instagram for a couple of months now. Once regulars commenting and interacting on each other’s social media, the eagle-eyed noticed that it’s now been many months since either woman engaged with the other on Instagram and therefore rumours of a rift are rife. Also in the same week Kylie Jenner creates headlines after snubbing her sister Kendal on Instagram together with friend Hailey Bieber.

So, this all got us thinking. In 2022, is snubbing someone on social media really the biggest snub and statement you can make these days? Or well, are we all just reading too much into this one?

I don’t know about you, but most days I’m crashing from thing to thing and I dip in and out of social media as I can with the odd like, comment and if someone is lucky enough a reply to a message. Daily life is busy and a juggle for most of us and I never knowingly ignore or snub anyone, but it likely has happened - apologies if it was you! On face value, you could say these are all busy women and of course they’re not connected all the time, even if part of their “job” is being on social media, so if us mere mortals miss things or overlook liking every one of our mother in law, cousin, friend or colleague’s, then it's totally normal that they will do, right? For two months…well, maybe it was really busy?!

In reality, these women are all very well versed in being in the public eye and well aware of the scrutiny that comes with it. They know there are journalists, fans, and observers watching every move they make physically and virtually and so would they really be naïve enough to think this would go unnoticed? The one odd off miss, but two months of absence? Of course not. Even if they’re not on social every day, they have “people” around them and assistants that I assume do help them out with their social media now and again giving them the very little excuse.

On the basis of these reasons alone, I think it’s very likely there is some truth to the claims between VB and Nicola, which is sad only a few months after their dream wedding and given how close they were all before. But who knows, we can guess but none of us do know for sure.

In a world where so many of us are socially over-exposed and we live and breathe our online world, is social snubbing and failure to “like” and interact with each other for the world to see on Instagram now the ultimate snub?

It most certainly does seem so.

If we want to get psychological on it, the research is clear and shows that being ignored on social media is mental hell. It makes us feel “invisible”, excluded and just less important. If you wanted to give a clear message to your Mother in Law, then ouch this could be it.

The ultimate snub and the ultimate mind game it seems. Do we really have time for this on top of all else? I personally have a real love-hate relationship with social media. Whilst I love it for some benefits and it’s been a big part of my business success, I’m also very aware of the psychological impact it can have. I’m a 40-something-year-old woman and I struggle some days and wonder if someone not replying or commenting back means they don’t like me, so what chance do kids and teens have navigating this terrain? Is this really how we all as grown-up women (or men, let’s not assume it’s just us) want to behave and run our relationships? As we enter into a more online world packed with the Metaverse and more, do we assume this will only get worse? There are so many questions here, but it’s all really concerning for the future state of our relationships and overall human connection.

Can we all just focus on connection and not snubbery.