Neha Bhasin: There needs to be a healthier environment on the internet

In a recent video that has been making rounds on social media, singer Neha Bhasin was seen engaging in a light-hearted exchange with paps, requesting them not to zoom in on her while taking pictures. Asked her what compelled her to make this request, and she tells us, “It was just a conversation between the paps and me, because I know they tend to zoom in on my back sometimes. Actually, there was a video posted just a day earlier, showing conversations occurring around my back. So, when I saw those paps again, I was just kidding because I knew the person who was filming me the day before.”

While she maintains that it was a lighter way to bring their attention to matter, she adds that there is a line that should be respected. “Paps are just doing their job, but there are times when I do feel there is a line, and I get it. I interact with them on a daily basis and they are just trying to make me smile. I respect them a lot, I don’t want to be harsh with them, so I told them, in a healthy way, to not click me from behind,” adds the singer.

However, the 40-year-old asserts that this incident calls for a more substantial discussion about the overall online environment and the dynamics of celebrity interaction. “The bigger discussion today is that there needs to be a slightly healthier environment on the internet. A lot of people are doing this (requesting paps) because they understand there is so much negativity on the internet, and when they put something normal or healthy, people don’t react or they don’t get traction,” she elaborates.

Bhasin expresses concerns about the culture of seeking attention through negative comments, and that this phenomenon isn’t limited to paparazzi content alone. “More than the privacy, there is a lack of healthier environment on the internet in general. That’s what we need to be worried about than the privacy of celebrities. This is like a newer version of old gossip magazines that used to work so much,” she states.

Touching upon the broader issue of public perception and the complex territory that comes with fame, the singer shares, “More than the paps, it is also the public seeming like they can say, comment, or do whatever they feel like when it’s a celebrity in question on the receiving end. It comes with a part of the territory. I am not saying that you love it all the time, but there is an understanding that it’s a part of your life.”