Food Reviewer Becca Stock Speaks Out on Online Troll Abuse

Published: 13 August 2026 | The English Chronicle Desk | The English Chronicle Online

A Gloucestershire food reviewer with millions of followers has spoken about the abuse she receives online, including deeply distressing messages from trolls who have urged her to take her own life.

Becca Stock, who creates food and supermarket review videos under the name Beccaeatseverything, said abusive comments are an unpleasant reality of having a large online following. However, she believes the people responsible represent only a small minority of her audience.

Stock’s comments come as new research from the University of Gloucestershire examines why people engage in abusive behaviour online and what makes digital platforms particularly conducive to hostility. Researchers say the online environment can weaken the social restraints that normally discourage people from making aggressive or insulting comments in face-to-face situations.

For Stock, the experience demonstrates how quickly an apparently ordinary piece of content can become the focus of intense online criticism. She began producing videos in 2021, initially with the aim of helping people make affordable food choices during the cost-of-living crisis. Her reviews have since attracted a substantial audience, but that visibility has also exposed her to personal attacks.

One of the most difficult periods came after she reviewed a supermarket’s basic-range products. Stock said her intention was to identify affordable items that could help people manage their household budgets, based partly on her own experience of living from one paycheque to the next.

Instead, the review attracted a wave of negative reactions.

She recalled being described as self-entitled and accused of being a privileged or snobbish person simply for reviewing the products. Some of the comments became considerably more personal, including messages encouraging her to take her own life.

Stock said she has developed ways of dealing with abusive users, including blocking people who make personal or discriminatory remarks. She also believes that boredom and jealousy can play a role in why some people choose to target strangers online.

Despite the abuse, she does not believe the internet is dominated by hostility.

Stock said the people who leave hateful comments are a minority compared with the much larger group of viewers who are interested in her food reviews and everyday life. She also acknowledged that the relationship between creators and audiences can become unusually personal, with followers sometimes feeling that they know someone they have only encountered through a screen.

That sense of familiarity can have both positive and negative consequences. A creator can build a strong community around their content, but the visibility created by social media can also make personal criticism feel relentless.

The research from the University of Gloucestershire provides some explanation for why people may behave differently online.

Dr Amy Grubb, an associate professor of forensic psychology at the university, said digital communication can create what researchers describe as an “online disinhibition effect”. People may feel less constrained because they cannot see the immediate emotional reaction of the person receiving their comments.

The physical distance created by a screen can also reduce a person’s perception of accountability.

Dr Grubb explained that people can feel psychologically hidden even when they are not anonymous. Without the same social cues present during face-to-face conversations, some individuals may find it easier to express anger, prejudice or hostility.

The research suggests that online aggression does not necessarily mean people become completely different individuals when they use the internet. Instead, existing emotions, opinions, biases and social pressures can be expressed more freely when normal social restraints are weakened.

That distinction is important because it suggests that online abuse cannot simply be explained by anonymity.

Social media users can sometimes attack others while using identifiable accounts, particularly when they believe there will be few meaningful consequences. The speed and reach of digital platforms can then amplify individual incidents, allowing abusive comments to attract attention and encouraging further hostile behaviour.

For people with large audiences, the problem can become particularly difficult to manage.

A single negative comment may be easy to ignore, but repeated criticism can become emotionally exhausting. When hostile comments continue over weeks or months, their cumulative effect can be much greater than that of an isolated incident.

Jess John, safeguarding lead at Young Gloucestershire, said young people supported by the organisation frequently discuss the effect online abuse can have on their wellbeing.

She said the psychological impact is not necessarily caused by one particularly offensive comment. Instead, repeated and sustained hostile criticism can gradually affect a person’s emotional health.

Young people experiencing persistent online hostility may suffer from lower self-esteem and reduced confidence. Their experiences can also affect their ability to form healthy relationships and feel secure in digital spaces.

Young Gloucestershire workers therefore include online safety among the issues discussed with young people. Practical advice includes learning how to block abusive accounts, report harmful behaviour and recognise situations in which online interactions are becoming damaging.

Mental health organisations have also warned that online harms are becoming an increasingly important issue for young people’s wellbeing.

Paul Noblet, head of external affairs and research at YoungMinds, said the charity had repeatedly called for stronger action over harms experienced by young people online. These include exposure to disturbing material, online abuse and platform features designed to keep users engaged for longer periods.

The challenge is complicated by the central role social media now plays in communication.

For many young people, online platforms are not separate from their social lives. Friendships, education, entertainment and social identity can all be connected to digital services. Avoiding the internet completely is therefore rarely a realistic solution to online abuse.

Instead, researchers and support organisations increasingly emphasise resilience, digital literacy, effective reporting systems and stronger platform safeguards.

Stock’s experience also highlights the particular vulnerability of people who make their living or build their public profile online. Food reviews may appear relatively harmless compared with more controversial forms of content, yet creators can still become targets because audiences may develop strong opinions about their personalities, lifestyles or choices.

The reaction to Stock’s supermarket review illustrates how quickly discussions about everyday consumer products can become personal.

Rather than debating whether particular products represent good value, some users turned their criticism towards the person reviewing them. For Stock, that transformation from content discussion to personal abuse demonstrates the difficulty faced by creators who are constantly exposed to public judgement.

Nevertheless, she has chosen not to allow the most aggressive responses to define her relationship with her audience.

Her view that most followers are supportive reflects the wider reality of online communities. Social media can facilitate abuse, but it can also create networks of people who share interests, provide encouragement and help creators build successful careers.

The challenge for platforms and society is to ensure that the benefits of these communities are not undermined by persistent harassment.

The University of Gloucestershire research adds to growing evidence that tackling digital abuse requires more than simply telling victims to ignore offensive comments. Understanding why people become aggressive online, how platform design can influence behaviour and how repeated abuse affects victims can help shape more effective responses.

For individuals such as Stock, however, the immediate challenge remains personal. Blocking abusive accounts may provide some protection, but it cannot entirely prevent hateful messages from reaching someone with a large public profile.

Her decision to speak openly about the experience may therefore serve another purpose: demonstrating that online abuse can have real consequences for real people.

The millions of views received by a creator may create the impression of distance between the audience and the person on screen. But behind every food review, video or social media post is an individual capable of being affected by the words directed at them.

Stock’s experience underlines a broader lesson about digital communication. The ability to comment instantly does not remove the responsibility to consider the consequences of what is said.

As social media becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life, researchers and campaigners argue that creating healthier online environments will require action from platforms, educators, families and users themselves.

For creators facing abuse, knowing how to block and report offenders remains important. But the wider objective is to reduce the conditions that allow harassment to become normalised in the first place.

The debate over online behaviour is ultimately not only about technology. It is also about accountability, empathy and how people treat one another when physical distance separates them.

For Stock, the abusive messages may be loud, but they do not represent the majority of the people who follow her work. Her response is to continue creating content while refusing to allow a relatively small group of hostile users to define her online experience.

As research continues to examine the causes and consequences of digital abuse, her story provides a human perspective on an increasingly widespread problem: behind every screen name and social media profile is a person who can be affected by what others choose to say.

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