Karen Civil on Cyberbullying, Staying Positive and Dismissing the Haters
When it comes to social media, Karen Civil is the queen. Since discovering her passion for digital storytelling in the eighth grade, Civil has built a recognizable brand around the intersection of hip-hop, lifestyle and social media. Promoting positive living and empowerment is what she’s all about, but like anyone with a public, online persona, that doesn’t make her any more immune to Internet trolling or the wrath of digital bullies.
This week, after recounting an awkward encounter, she witnessed between Jay Z and rapper Cam’Ron during a podcast interview, she became the target of the latest herd of cyber bullies. After being encouraged by a derogatory post about her written by Cam’Ron, his fans began polluting her comment sections with hateful and rude remarks. (Yes, complete strangers are seeking out her page just to weigh in, hurl insults and demand that she ‘respond’ or ‘explain.’) But, you know what? She won’t. Civil says she’s too busy to worry herself with anything other than the exciting week she has planned campaigning with Hillary Clinton, but she was happy to sit down and discuss the importance of blocking out the negativity online so that you can stay focused on the positive.
