Only a few years ago BARBERLOVE was a common phrase in our industry. Today within the barbering community it seems to be who can you slate the most on social media to get noticed.
In the last few days of floating around the barbering pages I’ve seen so much negativity towards other barbers. Whether it’s peoples work they post on social media when they’re really asking for advice or guidance or criticising live show demonstrations, many people miss the reason behind the posts and jump on the criticising bandwagon not really understanding the context behind the image.
Many barbers give up their time to help support the industry by offering their skill and knowledge in ways of live demonstrations, editorials and workshops usually at their own expense. When you don't take into account the time, effort and money that barbers give turning up to events and planing educational demonstrations and organising all the behind the scenes activity its easy to criticise the occasional mistakes that regularly happen. Maybe it should be seen as the entertainment with added education that it really is.
Barbers of all ages, ability’s and training levels in the uk get drawn to the social media barbering pages for advice inspiration or searching up to date styles and looks but can often be faced with Know it alls, egos and insults from keyboard warriors. Yes banter is good and as barbers we are the banter kings and queens but often written text is hard to decipher in its actual context. There are some great Banter pages specifically designed for taking the mick and having a laugh at the industry. I personally laugh at some of these pages and think its funny because its true lol. Some of these pages / groups make it clear from the start that it's for fun and not to be taken seriously.
Whenever you post your work on social media you have to think why am i posting this? Is if for constructive criticism? is it show how good you are? is it just for more likes? Likes don’t make you rich! Barbers are not your customers if your trying to promote yourself and your work do you really want to be giving all your secrets away to other barbers or open yourself to insults? Think about the followers you have and why they really follow you?
Social media platforms offer a BLOCK button. The easiest way of stopping these insults or things you don’t like is by blocking the person or platform that causes you any issues. Retaliation only adds fuel to the fire and can turn something little into a big issue where others can dragged into the involvement for no apparent reason.
Every barber these days seem to be trying to build up their online profiles and i guess sometimes they feel left out when their posts are not shared or commented on but please remember you never build your own business by putting others down. Keep your standards high and no mater how long you’ve been in the industry keep learning and stay humble.
