Social media was always a place for me to release. Since the time of Yahoo! Chat, I was addicted to meeting new people, learning new things, and ultimately building an additional business outlet. Over the past few days I have been a bit discouraged. Not by social media sites, but rather the users of the sites who view it as a place to bully their peers. We often talk about childhood bullying and how to fix it, but the examples they have by their elders prove that something or someone does not wish to fix the problem. It places me at a standstill when I begin questioning if we as a civilization really desire change. Are we at a point in which change is really only a click of a button and viola’ a new picture? Is change a simple hate phrase embedded in time but forgotten within seconds by the person who posted it and the ones who read it? What happened to action taking place in the environment? What happened to a movement of justice striving for peace? Freedom of speech means one thing, but freedoms of idiocracy is something totally different.

A college education use to mean something, being an author during The Harlem Renaissance used to mean something; hearing the struggles played out before our eyes through prose along with creativity. No longer are we looking at meaning but rather likes and a crowd of cosigners. Why does that have to mean something? Why have we allowed that to define us and this new generation of social media change? One minute you are everyone’s friend but as soon as a “secret” comes out that they disagree with, the entire social media world despises you. From Twitter to Facebook, you are now dragged through the mud within seconds. Public beating, with lashes from every corner, poked at, probed, denied, rejected, only to find yourself at the bottom alone.

Folks read into things wrong, just as I am sure they will read into this wrongly. It stems from perception and intent of the reader. What bothers me is that many unnecessary arguments stem from perception without question or speaking to the one they deem to be in the wrong. Social Media has now been used for character assassination instead of building a business report. It is a place where folks would rather taste blood than to heal from sores. I have been watching, listening, and thinking about many things as of late. I see so many people hurt, used, and the like. The only thing I can suggest through it all is to ask yourself why you are using a tool that can be viable for your business. If it is for business purposes, do you wish to see your peers, other businesses, and the like view you in the way you are presenting yourself. Perception, remember, is viewed by how the person see’s you as well as the emotions they are feeling at the moment. Also, first impressions are lasting impressions. Do you want to be written off because of how you handle life via social media sites? Ultimately the decision is yours. Roland Martin said in a thread tonight on Twitter about how we should use our voice righteously with so many followers. I happen to agree with him. I changed up what he said just a bit in order for it to make sense to us as individuals:
“You have followers don’t miseducate them. Use your following for righteousness and truth.”