THINK Before You Post

THINK Before You Post!

Can we please stop life for a minute and take a moment to talk about the way people treat each other on social media or on other online public forums? It’s almost as if it’s not okay for people to state their own opinions. We can argue all day long about freedom of speech but, in my opinion, there are other ways that we can disagree with each other and it can all be done by simply respecting each other while disagreeing with their opinion. There is no reason to be belittling or demeaning to others just because we disagree. It can all be done in a respectful manner.

So many times, I have seen people post their opinion about something an they just begin to get attached by others. Is that really necessary? No! It is not! Let’s tone it down a bit, say what we need to say without making the other person feel less than adequate, post our opinion and move on. We don’t need to fight with each other. There’s plenty of that already going on in this world.

I myself think twice before posting something on social media, anything in the topic of politics is off topic for me or anything that I think people might attack me for or that might be a bit controversial. It shouldn’t be that way, but that’s what I have chosen to do in order to avoid the possibility of being spoken to in a manner that I do not wish to hear. I would rather stay silent with certain topics, than be the center of a big discussion through typed words. We don’t even get to hear people’s tones when we are typing away on our phones or laptops, so things always have the potential to be interpreted differently. Don’t give people the chance to interpret you wrong, just stay away from those conversations or say it in a way that is respectful to others’ opinions.

I personally don’t think that there is much difference between attacking someone on social media versus being a bully. Am I the only one that feels that way? The exact same thing that you see parents telling their kids not to do at school is what you later see them do on social media or sometimes you hear them say mean things of other adults or kids in front of their own kids and you wonder where the kids get it from? Don’t get me wrong! I’m not trying to just blame parents for this issue, but we sure can be examples for the little ones.

I learned this while spending a lot of time with my niece when she was around 3 or so. She picked up on a few things that I would say, and I didn’t even notice that I was saying them until she started saying them herself. Luckily, it wasn’t anything bad, otherwise, my sister would have had a fit (I can’t blame her). She picked up “hay ya yay!” which is what I say instead of saying “oh my God! Or “Oh my gosh!” The first time she said it, I laughed, looked at her and looked at my sister who looked at me as if I was to blame. And I certainly was! I don’t even remember saying it to her because she was so young that I just used regular words with her so that she could learn those words instead, but they hear it all, even when you are not talking to them or when you think they are not around. Have you ever been in a room with other parents and kids when one of the kids slips a bad word and the parents are all embarrassed because you know their kid got it from them? That’s exactly what I am talking about. It happens! They hear, and then they repeat!

Anyway, all I am saying is that people and especially kids that look up to you are listening, watching and paying attention to the way you say things and act. They pay attention to your every move and then they mimic you. You are their most valuable example. Let’s not forget that! We are responsible for teaching younger generations right from wrong. Think of that the next time that you want to post an upset response to someone’s post attacking them for having a different opinion. What if your niece, daughter, son, nephew, cousin, brother, sister, mom or grandma or anyone else that you care about was on the receiving end of that post. Would you still post it, or would you find a kinder way to say the same thing or decide to say nothing at all? Did anyone else have that quote come to mind? “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” Maybe this would be a good time to listen to that advice. Or see the image above, which I believe is an excellent reminder.

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