I love being a hater.
First, let me define what a hater is. A hater is “someone who hates a specific person or thing.” I don’t mean I love to bring other people down because of their beliefs – I am strictly talking about pieces of media. I do not yuck other people's yums, I just love expressing my opinions and thoughts. Also, being a hater doesn’t necessarily mean you hate everything trending right now.
Hating and being a hater is not a new thing, although it is hard to find the first direct use of the term hater. The term first started to appear in the context it has today in the early 1990s. The phrase “haters gonna hate” was first used in a song lyric by 3LW in a song titled “Playas Gon’ Play.”
Being a hater isn’t always a bad thing. It is good to have your own opinions and thoughts about something. Being a hater also comes with maybe having some controversial opinions, too. For example, I do not think Rachel Berry from Glee is a bad person. Does she do bad things at times? Yes. But her character overall is driven and confident. Rachel needs to have those characteristics to make it onto Broadway.
I know many people who like being haters. Some hate in silence while others do it very loudly. Previous generations hated quietly, but according to an NBC article, Generation Z is changing the meaning of the word hater.
The article states Gen Z “believes being a hater isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” and that Gen Z’s version of being a hater is “having something to say,” which I totally agree with. Critiquing and criticizing are something that should be shared with people to understand multiple perspectives on a topic. With apps like TikTok, X, formerly known as Twitter, and the dreaded app YikYak, it is very easy to access multiple different opinions on almost any topic.
George S. Parks writes in his book that haters, “assassinate the character of those they envy, and they often play an active role in trying to do harm to the object of their hate.” While this does happen in some cases, that's not what being a hater actually is.
Park's definition of a hater is not the aim when Gen Z is hating on something. Gen Z’s approach is more so to get something or someone to improve.
Take musician Dua Lipa for example. She has had multiple hit songs and iconic performances. However, when she first took off she wasn’t known for that. When she went viral in 2017 her dancing was highly criticized for being lazy. Now she is one of the best performers, and she has stated, “I look back at it with such fondness because it helped me grow into the artist that I wanted to become. It made me work harder. I went in, I did more rehearsal. I just wanted to become a real performer. And I think that was kind of the thing that I needed.” In this case, people being haters helped her grow and become more successful, directly negating Park’s idea that hating is meant to "assassinate" someone’s character.
It is a new age in which being a hater is embraced and welcomed, as long as you do it respectfully. Expressing your opinions and why you feel that way is fun. Being a hater is fun.
Cassie is a sophomore studying communications at Ohio University. Please note the views expressed in this column do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk to Cassie? Email her at cb086021@ohio.edu.
