How Technology Led to Zayn Malik Leaving One Direction

By now you’ve heard that One Direction band member Zayn Malik has quit the band in order to live “a normal 22-year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”

One Direction will still continue its world tour as a quartet and record a new album that’s expected to release later this year.

The official reason that led to Zayn Malik leaving One Direction is unknown, but last week he took a break from the band’s world tour due to “stress,” and it was believed to have been caused by cheating rumors that arose when a photo appeared online of Malik holding hands with a girl who wasn’t his fiancee.

Malik later tweeted about the situation, somewhat denying that it happened, but not completely ruling it out:

I'm 22 years old… I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous fucks in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x

— zayn (@zaynmalik) March 18, 2015

This goes to show that in today’s world, nothing is really left private, and someone is always waiting for something to happen, with their camera in hand and ready to post it online for the world to see. While most people usually don’t like it when their private affairs are publicized (even if it is in public), it still happens. Unfortunately for Malik, it happened to him.

With Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and a whole host of other social-centric websites, word gets around quickly, and something as trivial as the color of a dress can turn into a huge worldwide debate, as we’ve recently discovered.

For Malik, it wasn’t a color debate about a dress that drove him over the edge, but rather a photo of him that someone took at just the right time and place. Yeah, he probably shouldn’t been flirting with that girl, let alone hold her hand, but the spreading of the photo caused a worldwide “gasp” in unison that probably led to Malik’s “stress.”

ZAYN HOLDING HANDS WITH A GIRL TODAY! pic.twitter.com/u2hglJP1OD

— 1D Updates (@OTRADaily) March 18, 2015

Technology has changed society immensely in a rather short period of time, and it’s gotten to the point where technology made a 22-year-old singer so stressful that he ended up quitting one of the most popular bands in the entire world.

Again, some would argue that Malik brought this on himself by holding hands with a random girl who isn’t his fiancee, but the situation probably wouldn’t be as drastic if social media didn’t exist.

And as expected, One Direction fans lost their cool after hearing that 1/5th of One Direction is no longer a part of the band. There’s been crying, confusion, and even devastation. Some fans even took it a bit too far than what’s probably healthy:

https://twitter.com/heartoutalexis/status/580775366391889920

https://twitter.com/aniegarabedian/status/580775329624498176

https://twitter.com/iaGrdirectioner/status/580775220795035648

I get that there are die-hard fans of One Direction, and a feeling of sadness is completely understandable, but many people don’t realize that not everything lasts forever. I was sad when Parks & Recreation ended, but I didn’t go cry in the bathroom for hours on end, and I certainly didn’t compare the ending of the show to losing a family member, although I have to admit that the loss of Lil’ Sebastian was pretty devastating.

But I digress.

Technology is a cool thing, and it helps make the world go ’round, but it’s also something that can cause major disruption in one’s life. For Zayn Malik, it all started with a random person nearby with a camera.