Let’s talk for a moment about social media, in particular Twitter. Social media is not inherently bad, but it is probably not as innocuous as it appears on first pass. And, as we’ve seen in the past several years, a simple 140 characters is enough to end careers and uproot lives. The larger problem of social media witch hunts aside, the fact that a quick tweet can drastically change things, is an important consideration. One of the reasons that guns or cars can be so dangerous and must be handled carefully is for that exact reason. A small squeeze of the trigger can have irreparable consequences. Losing focus on the road can have dire consequences. In the same way, small tweets have been used to destroy careers, announce major policy decisions from the government, and spark debates that waste everyone’s time and energy. It would be nice if there was a safety on Twitter, something like grammerly but for insensitive and alienating comments. Not something that censors (We are big fans of the first amendment after all), but something that says “this is racist/sexist/mean, are you SURE you want to post this for everyone to see?”. Perhaps a voluntary breathalyzer or drug test before you could post would also be beneficial. The things that take years to build can often be destroyed in seconds.
The big push in using social media must be being intentional about it to relate to one another in positive ways. Thoughtless scrolling and mindless posting is dangerous, and the drastic downside far outweighs any potential upside. Live intentionally.
JR.Stanley 