Humanity
has so much potential for producing astounding things by using the amazing
technological resources we have; yet, we’ve developed addictions to social
media sites.
Yes,
these are great tools for keeping in contact with one another, for reaching out
to those who have moved away or traveled far, and for saving on postage
(especially if we were to send everyone on our friends lists a package of all
of the pictures we put on these sites). But, really, what benefit is it for our
society to share every moment of every day with your friends lists and
followers? Blogs can be equally as bad, and I am just as guilty as the next
digital age citizen. Why do we care so much about what others are doing with
their lives? Is it because we actually care? Or is it for gossip on your coffee
break at work?
Here’s
the thing: I have this undying vendetta against gossip, mostly because I’m from
a small town and they are notorious for
gossip. In fact, the majority of the relationships one makes (well, generally
speaking from my own experience) is based off of the premise of gossip in rural
communities. My grade 8 art teacher enlightened me to the most humbling bit of
advice one day. A group of us were talking and one particular individual
started to playfully insult a person who was not present in this group. We
thought it was harmless and so we all got caught up in this gossiping frenzy. I
started to insult this person as well and then when it got out of hand, our
teacher (who was sitting right there)
looked at us over his glasses and said, “guys, how would you feel if people
were talking about you the way you’re talking about *insert name here*?” I had
never thought about that before, what a strange concept. I was 13, I was
invincible. No one ever talked about me when I wasn’t present.
BUT, OF COURSE THEY DID!
BUT, OF COURSE THEY DID!
If you do it behind other people’s backs, chances are
someone does it to you. I started to torture myself with this perpetuating reel
of things people could gossip about behind my back. I immediately stopped talking in that discussion and
felt forever guilty of ever participating in a gossiping frenzy. I have since
then tried my hardest to keep cognizant of this issue.
With that said, I had also made sure I did not share
information about myself that I did not want people to use as gossip. Although
it was to no avail, since people will interpret anything into a negative
subject to talk about. And, I guess what I’m trying to say is, this rule and
fact applies to social media sites too. Why would you put information such as
moments of emotional vulnerability, pictures of inappropriate activities, or
even share links to pages that are otherwise profane? Though you may not view
it as such, these social media sites are not as casual as a physical social
life. These sites are a place where other people can access (future employers,
potential mothers-in-law, colleges and universities). Don’t think for a second
that these people are not as tech-savvy as
you and don’t know how to creep you and your latest update on twitter #nojobforyou
#McD4lyfe. But, you can’t just blame the victims of gossip for making it so
easy.
It just makes you wonder if you use facebook and all that
jazz because it serves as fuel for gossip, or if you are connected to these
people because you actually find that relationship positive. What is gossip
anyway? I really want you to think about it, does it serve any purpose in your
life other than to make yourself feel superior
to this person you gossip about? Keep mindful that other people have to make
choices based on their own circumstances, and any judgment that is made without
knowing fully what that person is going through in their life is going to be a
false accusation. For example, you are criticizing someone for wearing clothes
that are old and from a parent’s closet but you ignore that this person’s
parents recently passed away so they are wearing these clothes as an intimate
memory of their departed. Or, for instance, you are judging a girl for wearing
too much make-up, but she wears that much make-up because she has always been
told that she is ugly and has developed a difficult complex that only make-up
can fix temporarily. Could you imagine how guilty you would feel after that?
Could you imagine being in their position? Can you see that you are not solving
problems by gossiping, that you are merely adding more problems to the original
one?
What kind of solution can I offer for this issue? Well, the
way I see it is there are two main issues to this problem: one is that people
simply over-share on their social media sites; the other is that people find
gossip to be a good topic of conversation. What I can suggest is to be very
critical of whom you let into your life on social media sites; just the same
way as you would in your physical personal life. Another suggestion is to use
these sites as tools, to collaborate with colleagues, to publicize events that
rely on word of mouth, to share your passions and to encourage and spread
positivity. There is enough negativity in the world, and it has been
scientifically proven that negative thought processes have just as negative
effects on the environment around you, so keep your posts positive. If you have
a funny story, you’ll be surprised how many people will respond to that post. In
my experience, I get the most attention if I post things that I have succeeded
in doing (getting accepted into college or posting things that I’m doing with
other people like traveling). People like to know that you’re doing things. If you want positive
attention, go out and do positive things! You won’t regret it. Another solution
is simply just stop gossiping, find better things to talk about, things that
will make you feel better without possibly making others feel bad.
Although we rely so much today on our devices to communicate
and it has definitely made many things much more convenient, we need to
remember that we still have the capacity to speak and the natural need to be in
contact with other humans. We are a species that is most successful when we
cooperate—two heads are better than one—so
instead of separating ourselves with these devices and creating hostile
environments for ourselves and others, let’s not forget that there is still a
world out there that wants to be experienced, and people who want to be
respected.
Post less, do more.
Until next time!
Dillon
Dillon
Hello and great writing you all! I fully intend to come back and reread your blog when I am not killing time and supposed to be doing school (well, maybe just at a different time when I am avoiding school work). :-) Love your blog title and the chance to 'get to know you all'.
ReplyDeleteI do know Dillon, a bit from music camp.
Lydia
Oh and feel free to check out my blogs if you would like. I have my blog that I plunk more light hearted stuff on, the one that most of my friends/family know about. www.gallopingguitarist.blogspot.com and I have my other blog that I write out my actual feelings not just my good times. www.healingsecondwind.blogspot.ca I use a different blog because I don't want my family getting a hold of it right yet.
ReplyDeleteSounds great Lydia! I will definitely take a look at your blogs! Thanks for reading/commenting and good luck with school work!
ReplyDeleteStay tuned!
Dillon