A photograph of Parag in an interview. Source (X)
There are times when journalism can be a noble, even admirable, profession. There are countless media persons who have exposed war crimes, political impropriety and financial scandals. In many cases, they paid a harsh price for that courage. For every Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein – celebrated in print, on screen and in popular culture – there are ten others who have ended up in a ditch with a bullet in the head.
That is proper journalism. Then you have the scummy tabloid variety, of reporters turning up on a young woman’s doorstep to tell her that her husband – playing sport in a country halfway across the world – is a ‘love rat’ who’s been having an affair. Her response is the ‘scoop’, and it’s allegedly in the public interest.
The advent of the Internet and social media, in particular, took yellow journalism to even more deplorable levels. It’s become a frantic race to the bottom of the cesspool, and we have one more exhibit now with the Riyan Parag (non) story. Without going into the gory details, let’s just say that during a livestream, details of Parag’s browsing history became visible to thousands of viewers.
Parag, incidentally, was one of the breakthrough stars of the 2024 IPL. His 567 runs at a strike-rate of 151.60 involved more than one salvage job, and his clean ball-striking would undoubtedly have caught the eye of India’s selectors as they look to rebuild after the upcoming T20 World Cup.
Instead, all that he achieved with the bat in two months has been partly obscured by his YouTube searches. Bear in mind that he wasn’t searching for information on how to build a cluster bomb or how to source some exotic psychedelic stimulant. His search was no different from what you’d find on the devices of millions of young men, and women, across the country. Nothing to see there. Move on.
Instead, Parag, just 22, has been trolled and mocked left and right. Here’s a simple test. How many of us would like our search histories, on YouTube or any other platform, shared with the world at large? So many of those passing judgement and taking potshots need to take a long hard look in the mirror first.
As dangerous as the instant-judgement culture is this absurd notion that ‘celebrities’ somehow belong to the public at large and are not entitled to any sort of privacy. A sportsperson out for a meal with his or her partner is enjoying a moment they rarely get in the midst of insane itineraries. Ask yourself how you’d feel if a random stranger came up, put their hands on your shoulders, or worse, and then asked for a selfie. How many would tolerate such an intrusion?
There are ‘sports’ websites that do little more than publish salacious gossip about players’ partners. How is that in the public interest, or remotely comparable to listening devices in a rival political party’s offices? Some of the stuff written and posted about Yuzvendra Chahal’s wife, to take just one example, is so disgusting that it would defile a gutter. It’s laughable that idiots with minds so perverse are passing judgement on a young woman trying to live her life as she knows best.
What the players do, or don’t, in matches and in practice, matters. As far as their on-field performances go, they’re answerable to the fans and franchises/organisations that ultimately bankroll their lifestyles. But what he or she does at a private party, on YouTube, or in a one-on-one chat is no one else’s business. To even pretend otherwise is just hypocrisy of breathtakingly high order.