She depicts a childlike charm. Her globular eyes are full of cheerful spirit. And her manner, totally playful. Her Instagram bio reads a quote by Karen Gaffney, a TEDx Speaker and Advocate for People with Disabilities, “I have one chromosome more than you.” But more than all these inspiring elements about her, what made her turn into a viral cheerleading star is an instance where she got rejected for a cheerleading program. Emmie Tallent, 13, with Down syndrome, was evicted from the cheerleading team of her school based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. However, a few days later from this program, Emmie’s elder sister Sydnee posted a clip of her on Instagram where she showed how Emmie was performing the routine off the court, absolutely perfectly.
The video shows Emmie in a black dress dancing off the court while the other children in sports dresses are cheering in the school’s gymnasium, black and yellow pompoms flashing and bobbing in their hands. The clip depicts young Emmie performing the moves of the cheerleading squad with so much confidence that ended up inspiring many people, including her sister. Her 22-year-old sister Sydnee applauded the little one’s spirit in the video’s caption. “I aspire to have an ounce of her confidence,” she wrote. The video has crossed over three million views and over 87000 likes. Continuing her praise for Emmie, Sydnee explained in the caption how, at the same time, it was quite reasonable for the school team to not have Emmie. She writes, “The team did not have a lot of spots and even neurotypical girls (who were much better than Emmie) didn’t make it! She also can be super stubborn and not listen sometimes. Emmie’s school is super, super supportive, but there are hard decisions that have to be made sometimes. Emmie is still happy cheering with them at home games and my mom is secretly happy that she doesn’t have to drive my sister to tons of cheer stuff.” Adding to it, she said that there was great scope for Emmie to become a good cheerleader in the future, “Emmie takes gymnastics and dance and she loves it. I’m sure in the future Emmie will make cheer somewhere, but today she’s perfectly happy as she is!”
After Emmie’s clip caught the public buzz, Emmie and Sydnee’s mother, Lisa Tallent, told PEOPLE.com that the first time Emmie had been told that she was not going to be a part of the cheerleading team, Emmie couldn’t comprehend what had. “She didn’t understand even after the coach explained it and I explained it. She just kept repeating ‘I’m on the team!’" Once Emmie accepted that she wouldn’t be a part of the squad this time, Emmie began to feel torn apart. “I think it didn’t set in until about a week later when we were talking about the upcoming game and she started tearing up,” Sydnee said to PEOPLE.com. Lisa also said that Emmie had been a part of the cheerleading squad since kindergarten. She spent fourth and fifth grades in the cheerleading camp and therefore can pick up the moves and routine very quickly, which is what happened on the day of the game.
Talking about the clip she captured while Emmie was performing her moves off the stadium ground, Sydnee says, “I’ve always wanted to share Emmie’s humor and positivity with others. There are a lot of people who have no exposure or experience with people with special needs and it can make them close-minded. I wanted to give a little piece of Emmie out to the world so those people can see the joy that comes with someone with special needs.” Sydnee also said that her sister was a lesson in self-esteem and confidence for other people. The Instagram clip of this instance received tons of praising comments from people. Most of them wished Emmie well and said that it was all good as long as Emmie was happy and having fun.
Image Source: Instagram | bayouprincess56
Image Source: Instagram | debado51
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.