Social Media Has Made People Scared To Say What They Think: Hughesy And Kate

  • KIIS Hughesy & Kate Drive Show live broadcast event - in studio 4
  • KIIS Hughesy & Kate Drive Show live broadcast event - Q&A
  • KIIS Hughesy & Kate Drive Show live broadcast event - in studio 5
  • KIIS Hughesy & Kate Drive Show live broadcast event - Q&A 3
  • KIIS Hughesy & Kate Drive Show live broadcast event - in studio 2
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Emma Mackenzie
By Emma Mackenzie



The immediacy and ability to express any kind of opinion, be it positive or negative, on social media, has Kate Langbroek, one half of radio duo Hughesy and Kate, believing it’s made people afraid of having a differing opinion to the majority.

When talking to B&T about the hardships in radio at the moment at the duo’s celebration for going national last week, Langbroek pinpointed social media as one of the main challenges when it comes to saying what you want.

“Broadly I suppose…social media has really made people tighten up. So that there’s only one way to think about things because you’re too scared,” she told B&T.

“I think in a broad sense to not be afraid to voice what you think, because really, people can think what they fucking want in this country.

“You can say what you want, you can think what you want, even though people would have you believe that you can’t and you shouldn’t and you mustn’t. But no comedy is ever born out of Q&A. That sort of thinking, you have to be able to experiment with ideas to find where the funny lives.”

It’s one of the reasons the KIIS drive duo from the Australian Radio Network – consisting of Langbroek and Dave “Hughesy” Hughes – works so well, said Langbroek, because she doesn’t know what Hughes is going to say.

“I think that’s good for people who increasingly feel they live in a world where it’s very prescriptive about what you’re supposed to think about with issues,” she added.

Hughes chimed in: “I think we both feel that together we can push it out there.”

Many brands may be quick to apologise for saying something that’s taken out of context and then lambasted on social media, however Hughes and Lambroek, as the Hughesy and Kate brand, said they haven’t apologised in a long time.

“We believe our people who listen to us really get us and they can where we’re coming from so they understand,” said Hughes. “We don’t believe people who listen to us are quick to get offended.”

“And it’s not really a show for those people,” added Lambroek. “There’s plenty of shows for those people.”




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