Tara’s Takes
Last weekend Ben attended Marshall prom. So of course, I spent way too much time scrolling the numerous Facebook posts about it Sunday, especially since I haven’t edited my own photos yet. However, as I was scrolling and enjoying the fun photos, many other posts came up. And along with those posts came other posts. Some were from people I know, some were news sources I follow, some were ads. The part that caught my attention was the comments.
Yikes! As the bumper sticker says, “Some ya’ll need Jesus.” Man, comments have gotten nasty. Many times on things that do not relate at all to the post in questions. Side fights and arguments. People commenting just to comment, etc.
Once I was more aware of it on Facebook, because I honestly don’t look at comments often unless it’s on my post, I was reading some articles on different websites. The comments there were the same way. It had me thinking.
We all have opinions. They are exactly that — opinions. We have an opinion page. I wrote this column for it. It is my opinion. Can someone disagree with it, of course. Many people disagree with me daily. I have a teenage daughter. If you don’t think she disagrees with 90% of everything I say no matter what the topic, you haven’t had a teenage daughter.
The difference is our opinion page isn’t flooded with letters to the editor. It’s not that we discourage it. Instead, I think people don’t put their opinions in our small-town newspaper for two reasons.
First, we make you sign it. And we verify that you wrote it. there are no anonymous letters to the editor here. You are welcome to have an opinion but you have to be willing to stand behind it. No fancy screen names to hide your identity.
Second, we’re small town. We all know each other, even if we can’t put every name to every face. Therefore, we aren’t willing to put that opinion out in public.
Why then is social media running rampant with hurtful, distasteful, negative comments?
Easy, no one is held responsible. The Golden Rule about if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all is only enforced in kindergarten, not in adulthood. However, it should be.
Can you disagree with someone? Of course you can. But it’s how you comment that makes a huge difference. Per and I are a great example. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. If my mouth isn’t saying it, my face is.
Per, on the other hand, is much better under pressure. He remains calmer. He can logically think things through. If he has someone upset with him, he can talk and reason with them. Even if he’s frustrated, it takes a lot to show it.
Per is living the Golden Rule. That may be why he hates social media.
So that brings me back to the comments on every news post — stories, people posting videos of themselves trying to do better in areas of their life, etc. Just because we can leave a comment, does that mean we should? While we may feel like we are adults and can make our own decisions, those comments are seen by teenagers and young adults. They see others acting that way. Why should we be telling them the Golden Rule and to be better people and then posting negativity like confetti online?
Maybe it’s the fact that it’s not face-to-face. Maybe it’s because you can say it and walk away, never having to see the effects of your words. Maybe we’re just becoming a more negative society.
No matter the reason, it’s time we stop. It’s time we praise people for trying. It’s time we don’t jump to conclusions after reading the headline of an article and just spew hate. It’s time we think before we type and acknowledge that online comments can be just as harmful as face-to-face conversations, maybe even more.
I’m going to get my prom pictures posted. I look forward to looking at all of the ones that get posted from Tracy’s prom this weekend. I’ll continue to share my opinion on the opinion page and know that some will agree and some won’t. That’s OK, we’re all different. And I’ll continue to hope that more people will spread positivity rather than negativity online.
