Never Have I Ever actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan: Social media is full of racists and sexists

Actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan has a complex relationship with social media where she has received both love and merciless trolling. And perhaps that’s why she has stopped seeking validation from the virtual world.

“Social media can be very stressful and anxiety inducing,” says Ramakrishnan, adding, “It allows people to make opinions all the time and be very cruel because we forget that there’s a real human being behind the screen. People on social media like to misinterpret things, make fake stories and just judge others.”

The 21-year-old, who shot to fame playing an Indian teen struggling to find her identity in a foreign country in Never Have I Ever, says her experiences have taught her to stop taking validation from the virtual world, which in her opinion teems with bigots of all kinds.

“Racists are online. I don’t need their approval. I’m okay. There are absolute sexist and bigots online. I’m totally okay without the approval of the homophobes. So, I take that all with a grain of salt,” explains the Tamil-Canadian actor.

“I don’t put my validation in social media. I just treat it like a fun thing, by posting cool stuff such as video game stuff, or photo shoots to keep it real. And then I go to my friends and my loved ones to tell and remind me of the person I am,” says the actor, who also lent her voice in animated fantasy comedy, Turning Red.

With her first show, in which she essayed the role of Devi ending with its fourth season, she is excited to enter a new phase of her life.

“My character of Devi has helped me embrace my emotions — be it good emotions or bad emotions. She has definitely made me feel that it’s okay to feel things, feel upset and feel really happy and get excited about things. It’s not cringe or stupid or naive. She has brought the more emotional side out of me over these past four years,” concludes the actor, sharing that she will hold on to it while exploring her career further. \