We go on social media all of the time. We see viral videos that become trends. We see situations that would have been minor in the past turn into this frenzy that's full of speculation. There have been people who would lose their job over what they post on their social media. Posts that we think are okay probably aren't okay to someone else. It could be a generational, religious, political or all social gap between people. I'm all for free thinking and posting what our thoughts are but you have to think of the complications that could come out of your posts.
In our world now, we've all become journalists without the experience and education. A lot of people keep blogs and different social media channels in order to share what their thoughts and experiences are. Business Insider did an article about 17 people who got fired over what they post on social media (mostly Facebook). Imagine posting statuses on Facebook negative things about your job or coworkers/customers. The most popular story is a story about Ashley Payne and how she posted a picture of her holding two seemingly alcoholic drinks at a party. She was forced to resign from her position through email.
Whether you agree with her resignation or not, we need to be more mindful of what we post on social media. Growing up, my mom would tell me that the Catholic Pope could see what's on my Myspace or Facebook. Although I'm not religious, I still think about that every time I post something. My views often spark disagreements on Social Media, but I'm always respectful of everyone's thought processes. When someone posts different quotes or memes, sometimes it's good to take 30 seconds and research the meaning if they don't know about it.
We need to be careful of what we do when cameras are around also. The boys wearing M.A.G.A (Make America Great Again) hats were shown being disrespectful to a Native American Elder in a viral video posted to the internet. While others think they didn't do anything wrong, others think otherwise. Their school in Kentucky threatened disciplinary action leading up to and including expulsion. Something that could seem minor to others can be seen as major. As we grow as a society, we are continuing down the path of political correctness. That's the unfortunate part of always being "always connected."
It truly stinks when there has to be a filter on what is posted on our personal thoughts. We have to be considerate of those who are looking into our social media profiles because they could dictate if we have a job or not or even getting into a university. A viral video can spark a frenzy rivaled to those of wars. How we feel and think sometimes doesn't connect to others, so sometimes we need to take that extra 30 seconds to think before we post.
