Social media has really bloomed over the past decade and it is a wonderful thing, to an extent. The power that we have at our fingertips is incredible. You can post news in an instant and the whole world could know all in the same day. People can easily be contacted, persuaded, encouraged, enraged, informed, assembled etc. We can literally say anything we want and it will have an effect. Now the question is, should we?
Let's pretend social media doesn't exist. No more ranting on Facebook about the upcoming election, no more Snapping your day at the beach. No more #foodporn posts on Instagram, and no more retweets of celebrity Twitter battles. It's just texting, calling, face-to-face contact and your journal. Not the Facebook "What's on your mind?" text box, the actual wide-ruled, leather covered journal that is all inked up from a Bic. How great would our necks feel from not looking down at our phones for every notification that came though or what the health of our phalanges would look like. We would have so much more time to better our relationships with people and we would be more productive if we didn't spend so much time on social media, myself included.
We have the right to free speech, which is awesome, but I honestly believe that people abuse that power. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and so on, but since when is badgering people on Facebook, or tweeting your hate for a classmate on Twitter acceptable? It never has been and never will be and this is one of the reasons why we have so much controversy, hate and hurt in the world. When you're face-to-face with that person you can't stand at work and all you do is whisper snarky comments under your breath or give dirty looks then of course you are going to have tension. Then, you run home and somehow your courage and boldness goes from 0-60 and you're all of a sudden the Queen or King of Comebacks online. Social media is useful but if your first instinct is to log onto Facebook instead of going to that person to solve the issue (and I don't mean with your fists), there is a problem. On an even more serious note, people have taken their own lives because of what people have said about them on the internet.
We all see it. Over and over again "I cnt stnd my cwrkrs dey r alwys in my biznes.... I cnt w8 2 leev dis plc !" (A part of myself died while typing that sentence). Well, maybe if you didn't post every fraction of your day on social media, you would have more peace in your life.
The presidential elections are right around the corner and people are of course, offended as usual, especially on social media. People choose to be offended. There is a thing called perspective and opinion. Not everyone has to agree with you and when you post whatever you feel like in the moment, and it happens to be controversial, you can't get mad when someone else has something to say that is contradictory to your stance on the topic. You didn't have to comment on someone else's which ended up backfiring, sparking an online feud. Once you press that "post" button, you give every other person permission to screenshot, share, comment, like whatever it may be.
It's sad to me when I see so many people who hide behind the computer screen or find false bravery in their computers. You lose credibility when all you do is post negative statuses, post about people either anonymously or while blatantly tagging them in the post or even posting other people's business. This is where our communication skills are starting to die. The take away is that there is a time and a place for everything and not everything needs to go on social media. Don't sell your privacy to social media for free.
Just to clear things up, reaching out in a time of need, sharing pictures of Husky puppies, posting sappy birthday posts, informing people of local job opportunities in your area, or even inviting people to your next yard sale are all appropriate.
The moral of the story: To the best of your ability, use social media for good and don't stir up trouble for yourself or others. There are different ways to approach different situations. Know that there is a time and place for everything and learn to take responsibility for your actions. You can still have opinions and you can still have a voice.
