The expression of love in the 21st century has changed dramatically. Earlier, people enjoyed being with each other and keeping their love a secret. Public display of affection wasn’t appreciated. However, just like the definition of love has changed over the years, the expression of affection has also changed. From intimate snapshots to heartfelt wishes, sharing personal moments — particularly romantic ones — is a trend. However, many couples believe that showing off their happy moments on social media attracts ‘evil eye’ and brings negativity in their relationship.
A case in point is a recent interview of Janhvi Kapoor who shared that she refrains from sharing her life updates on social media or with people around her untill the moments are done and dusted. In her words, “If I tell people that I am travelling or I am crushing on someone, I attract the ‘evil eye’. Most of the time, I fall sick before travelling.” Earlier, Priyanka Chopra Jonas also expressed at Koffee With Karan show that she likes to keep things under the wrap until they are done, “You know ‘Nazar lag jati hai’ (you attract evil eye).”
This awareness has led many to curate their online presence more carefully or to avoid posting altogether, to protect their private happiness, over public validation.
Not everyone is happy
While several celebrities have spoken about attracting the ‘evil eye’ on social media apart from insane trolling, couples agree that the concept of social media evil eye does exist. Nikita Maheshwari, who has been married for three years, has stopped posting pictures of anything positive in her life, including photos of her vacation with her husband or even a random picture of them together. “The day I post a happy picture of us on social media, we fight on the same day. We have been married for three years and posted so many pictures earlier but every time we would fight over the smallest things. Gradually, we observed that maybe we are attracting negativity around us which results in our fights. I have completely stopped posting now,” says Nikita, a chartered accountant in a corporate firm in Pune.
The ancient superstition, which suggests that envy or ill wishes from others can bring misfortune, finds new relevance as people’s lives become more public. Couples fear showcasing their happiness might attract jealousy, leading to negative energy or events. “By keeping our relationship
private, we want to protect our bond from external negativity,” says Kunal, who used to post poems written for her wife.
Back to roots
Most of us were and still are cautioned by our parents against sharing too much about our success and joys with others, to avoid attracting negativity or jealousy. “It’s been there for centuries. It’s a blend of traditional caution and contemporary awareness to protect our lives from the potential negative impacts of widespread public exposure online,” says counselling psychologist Vidisha Jain.
On the other hand, Smruti Patwa, a digital marketing professional thinks that it’s about individual mindset than any evil eye. She points out that there are several accounts on social media which are about couple goals and they have a huge following as well. “Can we say, they have some special powers to not attract the evil eye?” opines Smruti.
Tarot card reader and palmist Ankita Goswami says content creators are shielded from negativity and evil eyes because the audience is not emotionally connected to them. “How many people from the following list know them personally? They are creating content which is a deception. We don’t know the reality between them. It’s more like a money-earning source for them.” She adds that true content creators may save themselves from negativity and evil eye “by positive energy they generate through their authentic passion and connection with their audience.”
These discussions just prove that ‘evil eye’ is a concept that will remain relevant through ages and media.
