Are You Bothered by the Comments on Social Media?
Because People Will Say Almost Anything
I try not to read too many comments on social media. Especially the comments made to news posted on Facebook from my local stations.
Ugh!
The toxic and often heartless responses make my hair stand on end. I can’t help but shake my head and say,
“These are the people who live in my town?”
OMG, I’m surrounded by mean girls, bad guys, and thugs. I’m seventy-one and because of my age, I THINK I can remember when most people were more careful about what they said in public. There was such a thing as etiquette and conversation fit for polite company.
Not any longer.
I’m not the only one who is noticing this ugly trend. As I was writing this article, I stumbled across a fellow writer with similar thoughts.
Jack Vance has an additional take on the influence of social media on our social interactions. He sees social media mob mentality, even vigilantism becoming normalized.
Wow! People are something else. I can really get down in the deep doldrums when it comes to people. I’m an introvert writer who rarely needs the company of other people. The ugliness that I encounter daily on social media only drives me further inward.
As my grandmother often said,
“The more I see of people, the more I like dogs.”
Wait a minute! My grandmother said that, and she lived way back in the golden, olden days.
That sudden realization makes me rethink my emotional reaction to the comments I just read on Facebook. I settle back down, turn off the computer, and refuse to read any more online comments today. That’s when I start to remember bits and pieces of old encounters in the past when people said mean things to one another that still bother me to this day.
The big difference being that they said them face-to-face not from behind a screen.
Racial slurs, for example, were slung around as casually as you please. There was a derogatory name for every ethnic group in the United States. Most people used these terms without blinking an eye. I won’t list them. They give me uncomfortable flashbacks to the good old days. I’m suddenly reminded that people were crude and ignorant, entitled and mean spirited, even cruel back in the day without so much as a verbal reprimand.
It was considered completely normal to talk that way.
That’s one reason lynchings took place. When people are given permission to disrespect a whole group of people with words, the inevitable next step is to hurt their bodies.
The good old days were actually very bad. So, what does that tell me about humans?
We’re a bad lot with bad habits. We were awful to one another in the past and we’re still awful to one another. We’re in need of a total makeover, from our hearts and souls to the very expressions on our faces. We need our world view readjusted. We need to foster empathy and not reward the bad guys.
It’s long overdue.
Sure! We’ve made a little progress, but it must be enforced by laws or else we’d go right back to our old ways. Sad! Until we evolve to a higher life form with more noble attitudes and better problem-solving skills, I’ll stick to my plans.
That’s right! I’m fine doing what an introvert does, avoiding the masses.
Teresa is a retired educator, author, world traveler, and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
