Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?

As we celebrate the holiday season, I feel a little like Uncle Scrooge writing this blog… but I must air my grievances before Festivus.  What is the deal with social media and the way people treat each other on it these days?

When social media was created, it was about connecting and sharing information and cute photos of kids, puppies, etc. Now when I log into my feeds, I often let out a groan at most of what I see. In my humble opinion, social media is not a place to:

Fight with people
Most of what I see on my feeds these days is people arguing with one another about politics and other issues they have no control over. Instead of calling people out from behind your phone or computer screen, let’s try the good old fashioned thing and have a real conversation or phone call.

And while you’re at it, don’t be rude or disrespectful. My mom always told me that if I didn’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all. I believe that’s called the Golden Rule. Let’s try following that again and stop being so nasty to each other online. If you wouldn’t say it to their face, don’t type it on social media.  

Change the world
On the flip side, social media can be very powerful, but you’re not going to change the world with your posts and I think that’s something lots of people don’t seem to understand. If you are unhappy with something, ranting about it on social media does not change anything. These days it seems like people view their personal social media profiles as the sole form of advocacy.

News flash, no world leader, elected official or whoever you are trying to influence is watching your posts. If you truly have a problem with something, do something about it. Call, email or write a letter to the company you have an issue with or contact your state or federal lawmakers about the issue you are passionate about.

Now I’m not saying social media is not a place for advocacy, because it can be used for that, but I’m saying that those posts without any actual action achieve nothing. If I’m being honest, incessant ranting or posting on the same issue multiple times a day leads me to unfollow people.

Now I realize with this blog I am essentially being an old person yelling “get off my lawn!” But hopefully my message resonates with some people.  

I hope that in 2024 we can all take time to evaluate how we use social media. If it’s for the reasons I listed above, maybe it’s time to rethink that. A little more civility in the world would go a long way and that goes for the social media world too.

Here’s hoping 2024 is the year of more positivity and less keyboard warriors. We’ll all be better off if that can happen.