Before the advent of the Internet, gatekeeping (it is defined as the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something) felt pretty rare. Unless you went to a high school with extremely annoying people, you could wear a band t-shirt without being quizzed on the artist’s catalogue and obscure trivia. Activities such as playing video games, or even shaking hands were free for everyone to enjoy without issue. Unless, you know, your handshakes are like wet fish. That’s never been okay.

Now that anyone and everyone is able to spout their toxic takes on social media, it’s become pretty normal for gatekeepers to try to alienate people who really just want to enjoy things. We’re not sure if these people just have fragile egos or are just nasty. Either way, they should probably seek help. It can’t be healthy for their blood pressure to get so upset about what other people are doing.