Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are all over the internet after they have announced that they are "consciously uncoupling" in Goop. Paltrow is reportedly frustrated over internet trolls at first but shared how she deals with them at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, on Tuesday, May 27. According to Us Weekly, Paltrow, 41, opened up about how she fends off anonymous critics on the World Wide Web after having a hard time not taking their comments personally.
"The Internet is an amazing opportunity, socially. We have this opportunity to mature and learn, which is the essence of being on earth - to being the closest person we can be to our actual, real, truest self," the Iron Man 3 actress said.
While internet is helpful in disseminating information, one of its disadvantages according to Paltrow is how "anonymity breeds negativity and insecurity."
"But the Internet also allows us the opportunity to project outward our hatred, our jealousy. It's culturally acceptable to be an anonymous commenter. It's culturally acceptable to say, 'I'm just going to take all of my internal pain and externalize it anonymously,'" she said.
Re/code reported that in February, the newly hired editor of anonymous image-sharing site Whisper promoted one of his company's user-submitted posts that included a picture of Paltrow's face overlaid with text alleging that she was having an affair. This image then went viral.
"You come across [online comments] about yourself and about your friends, and it's a very dehumanizing thing. It's almost like how, in war, you go through this bloody, dehumanizing thing, and then something is defined out of it. My hope is, as we get out of it, we'll reach the next level of conscience," the actress, whose inner circle includes Cameron Diaz and Beyonce.
"Our culture is trying to wrestle with the idea that everybody has a voice, and how it's unimportant and really important at the same time," she added.
"It's taken me a long time to get to the point where I can see these things and not take it as a personal affront and a hurt. I see myself as a chalkboard or a whiteboard or a screen, and someone is just putting up their own projection on it," Paltrow said. "It's almost like we're being given this test: Can you regulate yourself? Can you grow from this? Can you learn? You can make it as bloody as you want to, but is that the point?"
Reportedly, Paltrow still considers the Internet as a source of great good. Though the Goop team won't disclose specific details, Paltrow said her e-commerce business is profitable, and that the "open rate" (meaning subscribers that actually open Goop emails) for the Goop newsletter, which reaches people in 120 different countries, is more than double the industry average.
According to Re/code, Paltrow said she was initially hesitant about speaking at the Code Conference, where she would be onstage among tech CEOs.
