As winter break approaches, many students look forward to enjoying the holidays and maybe relaxing over a nice cup of Starbucks coffee. Starbucks’s seasonal flavors range from the classic Peppermint Mocha to the newest cup—the Chestnut Praline Latte. There’s only one problem. According to Joshua Feuerstein, evangelist, and social media personality, “(Starbucks) hates Jesus.” When Feuerstein saw Starbucks holiday cups and their lack of the seasonal  Christmas design, she immediately took action against the blatant attack on Christian principles in the form of online criticism. To date, Feuerstein’s video, posted on the popular social media platform Facebook, has garnered over 16 million views and features an angry complaint against Starbuck’s lack of Christmas designs.

While many people found Feuerstein’s comment to be rather extreme and dumb, the controversy became viral enough that Starbucks responded by saying, “Starbucks is inviting our customers to tell their Christmas stories in their own way, with a red cup that mimics a blank canvas,” the official response said. The “anti-Christianity” cup controversy has brought Starbucks under a lot of attention, and social media is to blame.

This latest Starbucks controversy is just one example in the growing trend of using social media as a platform for criticism. In today’s world, where technology has led people to be increasingly interconnected, social media causes public figures and companies to be placed under plenty of mostly negative attention. When someone says or does something somewhat politically incorrect, websites and other media outlets dramatize the issue to the point of controversy for more views, expressing their outrage. While this may be because of today’s progressive societal attitudes, the more likely reason is that pack mentality to capitalize on someone’s failure. This, paired with the anonymity of social media causes people to unleash fury on the victim.

Thanks to social media, complaining is more accessible than ever. And, when the complaints becomes viral like in the Starbucks situation, they become a powerful and influential tool. In today’s age, where social media is part of our daily routine, online opinion can cause change locally, such as when people brought justice to questionable actions of certain local policemen, as well as things on a global scale, for example terrorism, especially after the Paris attacks. With social media, you have the power to influence countless change. You have the power to ruin someone’s life,  bring down terrorism or boycott offensive cups all at the touch of your fingertips. Use it wisely.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Sabrina Mi at [email protected].