Honesty, they say, is the best policy. But can you go overboard with truthfulness? This recent TikTok trend says yes, for better or worse.
People are sharing brutally honest answers about mundane things in life. These clips have so far touched on slow walkers, French tips, and picky eating. And as you’ll come to see, these responses go deep.
Scroll through this list we’ve compiled and see if you can relate to any of these - many of which have already inspired memes online.
This post may include affiliate links.
It is a beautiful country. I would say "Be the change you want to see in the world" but unfortunately with a two-party system, it's very hard to change anything. There is just such an "Us vs Them" mindset; it's like watching toddlers bicker.
We appreciate people who “keep it real” and speak their minds. But being brutally honest has a downside. Psychologist Dr. Jonice Webb calls it “an easy out” for hurtful people.
“By adding the word ‘honest’ after ‘brutal,’ they are informing you that they are about to hurt you, but that you should not experience any hurt because they’re just being honest,” Dr. Webb wrote in an article for Psychology Today.
Those people who step off an escalator and just stop there looking around or still talking, with all people behind them piling up to get off too.
This is sweet. I hope my kids have this kind of relationship when they're grown. I have only brothers, but we're all close, even if we all live on different continents
Besides being a cop-out, Dr. Webb says brutal honesty may also be an act of manipulation.
“It’s also likely to make you feel that you’re wrong for experiencing the hurt. That’s gaslighting."
My mom was the strongest, and yet most fragile person, but still held it together and was always there for me when I needed her, until she lost her battle with breast cancer 20 years ago. I am what you might call agnostic pagan. Yet when I am panicking or desperate, I pray to her, because I know her energy is still a part of the universe so ot brings me a small measure of comfort.
Dr. Webb’s main problem with brutal honesty is that it rids the conversation of its true message.
“By being self-described ‘straight shooters,’ the brutally honest risk hurting the feelings of the receiver, raising their defenses so that they want to distance and protect themselves instead of responding in a useful way,” she wrote.
Most of the texts you’ll read in this list have strong emotions behind them. Their message comes with some extra spice. According to Dr. Webb, it could be a sign of childhood emotional neglect.
“Families that are not tuned in to the subtleties and complications of emotions (i.e., emotionally neglectful families) are more likely to be unaware of how their words affect others’ feelings. Therefore, they produce more perpetrators and victims of brutal honesty.”
Yep, my dad was my first heartbreak. The day I head him telling my mum I was too fat and would never find a husband if didn't get off my fat a*s, was the day our relationship broke. I then later found out he was a convicted sex offender when I tried to foster (with the husband, I'd never find because I was too fat). We went NC after I'd heard him tell 5 different stories about how he got the conviction and found out the truth from the Social Worker who was working with us.
Brutal honesty isn’t advised in romantic relationships. For neuropsychologist Dr. Sanam Hafeez, it shows a lack of compassion with the primary intent to inflict pain.
In an interview with Well+Good, she spoke about how being too blunt with a partner can create an unbalanced dynamic. It could also be damaging to the receiver’s self-esteem.
“There is no healthy way to sustain a relationship where one partner is held in such high esteem compared to the other.”
Personally, I cannot nap. Take me forever to doze off and then when I wake, I'm not refreshed, I'm trapped in another dimension.
Tell that to my son who would rather starve than eat something he doesn't like. It's even a battle to get him to try new foods.
DND is the closest thing to feeling like you have no phone. All the dings, pings, and buzzes don't make me flinch anymore 'cause I know it can't be my phone lol. I do love it.
This isn’t to discourage straightforwardness. However, Dr. Webb encourages truth with compassion, instead.
“Basically, brutal honesty shuts down communication. Truth with compassion encourages communication.”
I'm the opposite. I would rather die of dehydration than drink sparkling water. Absolutely nasty stuff.
Sadly from my experience many (not all of course) Asians don't respect the native flora and fauna. They quite often push in line and also hog/block attractions preventing others having a look.
Never understood the issue with them. The not really anymore scary or cute than any insect.
If you were to ask me about this thread, I'd say I found the few posts I read to be ridiculous. If you were to ask me on a deeper level, I'd look at you like you were nuts, as there was no deeper area. *wanders off to open a can*
I know - this was gruesome. Couldn't get past the 5th one.
Load More Replies...Most of these tik tokkers seem to have no idea what deeper means. Talking more about the same topic is not going deeper. Examining issues of WHY you like/dislike something, going into your personal HISTORY with an issue, looking at your FUTURE possibilities relating to the issue, exploring the MORAL implications of the issue........these are all examples of going deeper.
There's always one that has to bring a dose of common sense into it.
Load More Replies...If you were to ask me about this thread, I'd say I found the few posts I read to be ridiculous. If you were to ask me on a deeper level, I'd look at you like you were nuts, as there was no deeper area. *wanders off to open a can*
I know - this was gruesome. Couldn't get past the 5th one.
Load More Replies...Most of these tik tokkers seem to have no idea what deeper means. Talking more about the same topic is not going deeper. Examining issues of WHY you like/dislike something, going into your personal HISTORY with an issue, looking at your FUTURE possibilities relating to the issue, exploring the MORAL implications of the issue........these are all examples of going deeper.
There's always one that has to bring a dose of common sense into it.
Load More Replies...