When somebody throws a jab in the comments, your silence leaves them standing in the ring alone, swinging at air.

A public dig needs a partner to become a scene. Without a reply there is no exchange, just one person talking, and everyone scrolling past can see exactly what it is. Responding is what converts a comment into a conversation and gives it a second life. Nothing is the only move that does not feed it.

Leave it there. Do not screenshot it, do not show the group chat, do not compose the perfect reply in your head for an hour. If it crosses into something that keeps happening or gets nasty, that is not something to handle alone, so tell someone you trust.