The Trouble With Social Media

Okay, I know what I'm about to say isn't anything new. I also know that in a way it turns me into somewhat of a hypocrite. But it's happening anyways.

My problem with social media has been the same since it really got popular. This was really my problem with society before things like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram even became a thing. Let's get down to it: my problem with social media is that people seem to think that not being face-to-face with a person grants them the right to say anything they want.

Now before anyone quotes the 1st amendment to me, I know. We do have the right to say what we want. But, does having the right to do something really mean you should? In my mind, no.

Let me explain. When I was in high school, I had a pretty large group of friends. There wasn't much drama inside my group of friends, but there were definitely a few people outside that group that really didn't like me. Now I know I wasn't perfect. I'm really embarrassed of a lot of things I did back in high school. But as I was browsing through my old Formspring, (a then-popular site where you could anonymously or publicly ask questions to whoever had a profile) I came across quite a few hateful "questions." I know what you're thinking. I subjected myself to anonymous hate by signing up for these profiles. And I did. That was even a disclaimer on the site while you signed up. For the sake of not offending anyone with the language used, I won't post any of the actual quotes from my page. But, just know there were many telling me how stupid, fat, ugly, loud, annoying, and slutty I was.

In high school, those were some of the worst things I could have been called. Those posts really affected me on some days. It hurt to get these messages daily and have to pretend everything was fine at school, because I didn't want whoever had written them to see me down. Luckily, I was not so affected by these things that I did anything to harm myself. But that's not really why I'm writing this.

What I'm really writing about is the form of "bullying" I see on a daily basis online--by adults. If I had a dollar for every time I saw a post beginning or ending in "I'm just saying," "No offense, but..." "I probably shouldn't say this, but..." or "You can just unfriend me if you don't agree," I would have quit my job by now.

What is it about the internet that causes people to think they can say any offensive thing they want? Just because you can't see the person you're targeting doesn't make the blow any less powerful. The way I see it, if you don't agree with gay marriage, don't agree with it. You don't need to post on others' pictures on how what they're doing is "wrong." Don't like the President? Fine with me. But that doesn't mean you need to post racist remarks about him. If you've got a problem with someone else's religion, fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. But how can you expect others to respect your opinions if you don't return that same courtesy?

I think it's so silly to spend so much time and energy hating the way other people live, and spending even more time expressing how much you hate those things. I would so much rather my future children see others equally, and love everyone no matter what their background. Wouldn't you? And wouldn't you rather be known as a positive force in life than "that lady who posted that really douchey thing on Facebook the other night?" I know I would.

It's so simple. Practice safe social media, people.