Today in Bat Country, I am confounded by where our social discourse is headed.
Regardless of one's personal political leanings, aptitude, or perceived "patriot" status, our national conversation has gone straight down the toilet. Relationships of all types - friends, families, communities, have been ripped asunder since the 2016 election. I am not just referring to political talk.
On that front, it is pretty clear where each stands in regards to our current leader. You love it or you hate it. Both sides seem willing to burn any bridge available to express their point. Mind you, I'm equally guilty, and I will get into that more. The take no prisoners, defile the opponent before making a coherent point approach seems to be the norm these days.
Something I have become acutely aware of is the propensity to take this tack on whatever the topic. Folks just seem constantly peeved and ready to explode given any opportunity. You don't like my favorite brand of tuna, well I'll show you. I will make you the lowest form of life walking the earth. You will suffer my wrath for all your days.
Really?
We live in a new day where the internet rules the day. Got a question? Google it. Got a picture? Instagram it. Got an opinion? Plaster it on Facebook or Twitter. This does several things simultaneously, all with their positives and negatives.
I'm sure physicians world wide cringe when they hear a patient say, "Well, I Googled my symptoms and...". Any professional could be forgiven for going off on a client for presenting faulty research which hinders the performance of their craft.
This is not to say that Google is worthless. A great deal of valuable information is now at the touch of keyboard for virtually any issue under the sun. This is great, by and large. How do I do x? What is the political history of Zaire? Well, first of all, one can learn it is now Zanzibar. With an internet connection, the divide between an individual and information is eliminated.
The down side is obvious. Bad information propagates like rabbits with access to fertility aids. One is just as likely to encounter 10 bogus or very biased entries before finding uncorrupted facts as they are to find a Big Mac at McDonald's.
Poor research skills only add fuel to the fire. I can't recount the number of times I was told citing sources, which I thought reputable in college papers. US News and World Report, Time Magazine...go to the Congressional Record. This was all very foreign to me as a young student at a competitive college.
Now, the current administration has made a very big point of calling things "Fake News". I will applaud them for calling out the frauds who fill social media with blather to support a point, no matter how unfounded.
Recently, there was a spate of "news" about sharks in fresh water lakes. Also, quotes by A list celebrities touting a small town's graciousness. Harmless, but totally worthless word salad. Yet, many bought into it. People who lived nearby any of these locales went nuts about it.
One basic tenet of research is know your source. Not only does this require always questioning the source, but trying to find corroborating documentation. Both of these seem to be lost skills.
If my beef is not crystal clear, let me make it so. Social media is ruining us. For the effort of transparency, I am an avid user of Facebook. The platform gives me a very good, quick glimpse of the national conversation - where people lean, what they think important, and, sadly, how far humanity has slid toward an outright brawl.
STOP. REBOOT. Facebook and all other social media have enormous advantages. Good vibes and inspiration are only a click away. Varying opinions are right there, no need to ponder what the "other side" is talking about. My Facebook feed encompasses about 1000 friends. Every day, I get hard core intellectuals, good ole boys, evangelicals, gay folks, and people who post in languages I can't begin to understand. (Can you read Cyrillic? Vietnamese?)
Birthdays are shared. Any Joe gets hundreds of well wishes. When I was in especially hard times, Facebook literally saved my life, then circled back to make it much better with not only good wishes, but cold, hard cash thru a GoFundMe campaign which allowed me to have a surgery to walk again.
Then, there is the anticipated, unavoidable word which signals a 180* turn in the conversation.
BUT, there is a downside. Social media has put a bullhorn in the hands of each and every one of us. For some, this is the only way their message can see the light of day. For others, it can make their cat or Dachshund world famous. The common denominator is it allows each an every participant to skewer every other participant based, often, on purely partisan opinion or just plain bad information.
It really doesn't matter if the conversation is of utmost concern to world peace or just wanting to make sure your two cents are injected in a conversation, totally out of context, simply to make a point heard. Basically, our means of communication, human to human, are undergoing a radical, and painful, overhaul. We, as individuals, are learning on the fly, without full appreciation of the impact of our words, impacts which would be fully realized immediately in face to face conversations, or even over the phone (the last seismic shift in personal relations).
I am as guilty as anyone. Personally, I blame memes. These snippets of verbiage are created for very few reasons, among them humor and inflaming the opposing viewpoint. If I have ever lost my cool, and by that I mean absolutely laid into someone with the intent of drawing blood, it was due to a meme. The recipients of my wrath have included my sister and the Facebook friend of a childhood friend from 40 years ago whom I've never met. Neither deserved what they got.
I was viscous. The memes in question, as most provocative, political memes, were worded to draw a response. I fell for the trap. Posting something has become so...I struggle for words...unconscious, almost an involuntary reaction, that one can offend thousands of people without a second thought.
If there was a message intended here, it would be to think before you post. Let's lift the dialogue above the visceral verbal bashing which seems to be the norm on social media. It's the only thing I can think of which will stem the tide of a flooding blood letting among us.
Regardless of one's personal political leanings, aptitude, or perceived "patriot" status, our national conversation has gone straight down the toilet. Relationships of all types - friends, families, communities, have been ripped asunder since the 2016 election. I am not just referring to political talk.
On that front, it is pretty clear where each stands in regards to our current leader. You love it or you hate it. Both sides seem willing to burn any bridge available to express their point. Mind you, I'm equally guilty, and I will get into that more. The take no prisoners, defile the opponent before making a coherent point approach seems to be the norm these days.
Something I have become acutely aware of is the propensity to take this tack on whatever the topic. Folks just seem constantly peeved and ready to explode given any opportunity. You don't like my favorite brand of tuna, well I'll show you. I will make you the lowest form of life walking the earth. You will suffer my wrath for all your days.
Really?
We live in a new day where the internet rules the day. Got a question? Google it. Got a picture? Instagram it. Got an opinion? Plaster it on Facebook or Twitter. This does several things simultaneously, all with their positives and negatives.
I'm sure physicians world wide cringe when they hear a patient say, "Well, I Googled my symptoms and...". Any professional could be forgiven for going off on a client for presenting faulty research which hinders the performance of their craft.
This is not to say that Google is worthless. A great deal of valuable information is now at the touch of keyboard for virtually any issue under the sun. This is great, by and large. How do I do x? What is the political history of Zaire? Well, first of all, one can learn it is now Zanzibar. With an internet connection, the divide between an individual and information is eliminated.
The down side is obvious. Bad information propagates like rabbits with access to fertility aids. One is just as likely to encounter 10 bogus or very biased entries before finding uncorrupted facts as they are to find a Big Mac at McDonald's.
Poor research skills only add fuel to the fire. I can't recount the number of times I was told citing sources, which I thought reputable in college papers. US News and World Report, Time Magazine...go to the Congressional Record. This was all very foreign to me as a young student at a competitive college.
Now, the current administration has made a very big point of calling things "Fake News". I will applaud them for calling out the frauds who fill social media with blather to support a point, no matter how unfounded.
Recently, there was a spate of "news" about sharks in fresh water lakes. Also, quotes by A list celebrities touting a small town's graciousness. Harmless, but totally worthless word salad. Yet, many bought into it. People who lived nearby any of these locales went nuts about it.
One basic tenet of research is know your source. Not only does this require always questioning the source, but trying to find corroborating documentation. Both of these seem to be lost skills.
If my beef is not crystal clear, let me make it so. Social media is ruining us. For the effort of transparency, I am an avid user of Facebook. The platform gives me a very good, quick glimpse of the national conversation - where people lean, what they think important, and, sadly, how far humanity has slid toward an outright brawl.
STOP. REBOOT. Facebook and all other social media have enormous advantages. Good vibes and inspiration are only a click away. Varying opinions are right there, no need to ponder what the "other side" is talking about. My Facebook feed encompasses about 1000 friends. Every day, I get hard core intellectuals, good ole boys, evangelicals, gay folks, and people who post in languages I can't begin to understand. (Can you read Cyrillic? Vietnamese?)
Birthdays are shared. Any Joe gets hundreds of well wishes. When I was in especially hard times, Facebook literally saved my life, then circled back to make it much better with not only good wishes, but cold, hard cash thru a GoFundMe campaign which allowed me to have a surgery to walk again.
Then, there is the anticipated, unavoidable word which signals a 180* turn in the conversation.
BUT, there is a downside. Social media has put a bullhorn in the hands of each and every one of us. For some, this is the only way their message can see the light of day. For others, it can make their cat or Dachshund world famous. The common denominator is it allows each an every participant to skewer every other participant based, often, on purely partisan opinion or just plain bad information.
It really doesn't matter if the conversation is of utmost concern to world peace or just wanting to make sure your two cents are injected in a conversation, totally out of context, simply to make a point heard. Basically, our means of communication, human to human, are undergoing a radical, and painful, overhaul. We, as individuals, are learning on the fly, without full appreciation of the impact of our words, impacts which would be fully realized immediately in face to face conversations, or even over the phone (the last seismic shift in personal relations).
I am as guilty as anyone. Personally, I blame memes. These snippets of verbiage are created for very few reasons, among them humor and inflaming the opposing viewpoint. If I have ever lost my cool, and by that I mean absolutely laid into someone with the intent of drawing blood, it was due to a meme. The recipients of my wrath have included my sister and the Facebook friend of a childhood friend from 40 years ago whom I've never met. Neither deserved what they got.
I was viscous. The memes in question, as most provocative, political memes, were worded to draw a response. I fell for the trap. Posting something has become so...I struggle for words...unconscious, almost an involuntary reaction, that one can offend thousands of people without a second thought.
If there was a message intended here, it would be to think before you post. Let's lift the dialogue above the visceral verbal bashing which seems to be the norm on social media. It's the only thing I can think of which will stem the tide of a flooding blood letting among us.
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