BabyMonster and the death of empathy.

 One really nasty consequence of the KPop industry is a phenomenon known as "saesangs", or the milder "netizen", used in the same context. It refers to what Americans would call a combination of trolling and cancel culture. These antagonists manifest themselves in social media posts, talking about an idol's weight or some social media gaffe that may not have even happened. In a world dominated by negative energy online, these are some of the most unsophisticated bottom feeders in existence.

And you may be one of them.

Case in point: Baby Monster. Touted as the revitalization needed at YG, the seven girls starred in an obviously rushed pre-debut fake documentary with manufactured drama followed by some real drama in the form of a member not debuting with the others and yet another drama around one of the girls' stage name.

But after some delay, they debuted with "Batter Up", which objectively (as much as possible, anyway) seemed derivative in parts, but it's a abundantly adequate introduction to the group and helped to really differentiate them while also showing their presence and abilities. Personally, my only concern with them is that YG is so stingy with releases that they may become irrelevant before they can push out more content.

But the comments...oh my goodness. The amount of YouTube shorts and TikToks bashing the group is unbelievably aggressive and full of vitriol. Even the more mundane criticisms are plentiful and simply mean. Even on the positive side, there are plenty of borderline-creepy obsessive comments that have nothing to do with the group or the song.

So are you one of those saesangs? Of course not, right? Maybe not to this degree, and of course, you can enjoy or not enjoy Kpop in any way you like, but do you think about the fact that these are essentially teenagers who have had a single-minded purpose since they were quite young, and that they all only had one goal...to debut? So if you were talking about a girl in your high school who was, let's say, an athlete, would you feel comfortable criticizing her personality on a Facebook comment? Why not? 

Now watch this video, where they are reacting to their own debut for the first time. I've seen those looks a million times in my own girls and their friends...excitement, pride, self-doubt, and nerves. Now think about what a comment like "Chiquita's hair is ugly" or "Why would IG let them gain weight?" could do...these are modern teens...they can find anything. So the next time you decide to add your voice to a video, ask yourself if you would like it if someone said the same about your kid or sister or girlfriend. Empathy is becoming an endangered concept in Kpop. You don't need to be a rabid fanboy (that's its own problem), but especially if you are these girls' ages, take a breath before submitting.