I find it unfortunate that something like this needs addressed, but in a world that easily and rather breezily will smash someone for their post on social media, we need to lay down some guidelines for proper use of the medium. After all, the rest of us would like to participate and do so with some decorum that we all learned back in kindergarten.
To that end, I would suggest the following rules:
- When you see something that you don’t agree with, it’s okay to continue scrolling without commenting
- I know, its fun to have a conversation and I’m not saying that it is completely out of line to comment, but we’ve all seen it. Say one innocent thing, even the smallest scrap of an idea and we get shredded by the person that doesn’t agree with us. Sometimes, its just better to move on.
- Name calling is never right, even when you don’t agree with someone
- Just because someone is on the left, it doesn’t make them a communist any more than being on the right makes a person a fascist. Neither is true. This is just an example of a conflict that plays out online, but is true of any you want to name. Two opposing sports teams, residents of different states, you name it, it doesn’t matter. These things do not make name calling a good thing…ever.
- Have a diverse list of friends
- You don’t have to have friends that all agree with you all of the time. In fact, I would suggest having friends that believe a variety of things. You’d be surprised what you might learn. There are many things that are temporary in this world, but relationships with people get us through. We need each other and need to see a wide variety of what makes this world go around. We do have to live together in real life. Let’s see if we can do it online as well.
- You’re not on social media to sell me something
- This is, to put it mildly, annoying. If you are telling a friend something because you want to help them, fine. Connecting to a total stranger to see if they’ll buy what you’re selling is as irritating as a telemarketer on your phone during a meal. Buy an ad if you want to sell something. Don’t do it in the comments section under my post.
- The Golden Rule still works
- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s simple, but if you think about how something would hit you, it might make a change in how you reply, if you do at all
The bottom line is common sense and respect. If we saw more of it on social media, it would make it a much more pleasant experience for everyone.