A Silent Virus That Destroys Relationships, Communities and People

Author/Editor: Maria Anna Furman

This reflection comes from careful observation over recent times, but also from information that reached me and prompted me to name a phenomenon that is increasingly hard to ignore.

It is becoming harder and harder to pretend that we don’t see it.

Recently, a phenomenon that has always existed on the margins of human relationships has moved to the foreground. Gossiping, undermining others, jumping at each other’s throats, often not directly, but through half-words, suggestions, and so-called “good advice” that in reality serve one purpose only: to pull people away, divide them, and weaken them.

This is no longer just ordinary jealousy. It is jealousy of visibility, of attention, of the fact that someone else was invited, noticed, that someone else is “having their five minutes.”

Instead of asking themselves, “What can I do better?”, an impulse appears to make sure that others don’t have it either.

Micro-wars emerge. Small camps. Artificially fueled conflicts in which people begin to function not based on their own experience, but on someone else’s narratives, most often those soaked in frustration.

From personal experience, this is a classic mechanism of fear of invisibility. When someone does not feel sufficiently seen, another person’s success or activity begins to feel like a threat rather than an inspiration. This is when the need for control arises over relationships, the flow of information, and even other people’s decisions.

This is not a strength.

This is not a strategy.

This is helplessness disguised as influence.

What is most striking is that those who initiate such behaviours often build nothing themselves. They create nothing. Their energy does not flow toward action, but toward extinguishing others. In the short term, this gives a false sense of power; in the long term, it leads to isolation. And the highest price is paid by those who remain silent.

The most difficult situation affects those who stand in the middle. They listen, hesitate, and begin to doubt. Instead of curiosity, caution appears. Instead of openness, fear arises that “someone might get offended.” In this way, almost unnoticed, they hand over the steering wheel of their lives to others.

And yet relationships should not be a minefield.

Do not build opinions second-hand. Maturity begins where direct contact appears. If you have doubts, talk directly, without intermediaries. Gossip is not information; it is someone else’s interpretation.

Understand that someone else’s light does not dim yours.

This is one of the most important truths. The visibility of others does not take your place away. On the contrary, a world in which people inspire one another grows. A world in which they hate one another shrinks.

Jealousy of attention is like a shadow; it appears only where someone is standing with their back to their own light. One can spend a lifetime trying to dim other people’s spotlights. Or one can finally turn on their own, just as we have done with our projects.

Despite the hatred around us, Wyspa TV continues to grow, whether people like it or not.

The Stars Night Awards continue to gain prestige and momentum, whether people like it or not.

Leaders of Tomorrow is gaining momentum, whether people like it or not.

The conclusion is simple:

Dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.

And it is worth realising that barking will never diminish the size or the value of the caravan.

This is the choice we all face today.

Is it really worth spending life on gossip and hatred, draining energy instead of amplifying it into something good for yourself?

Author/Editor Maria Anna Furman