"SOUND BYTES" BITE
I've noticed something in the last couple of years that has disturbed me a bit. It has to deal with the new social networking sites, and how people communicate on such sites. It is very easy for a person to post a comment or observation on a stie like Facebook, and in the insuing responses have people clash most unpleasantly, to the pint of participants "unfriending" each other and dismissing the "offender" for their consideration forever more.
The problem for me is that no one's comment post on Facebook can actually reflect that person's full opinion or understanding of something. Not even message boards with their greater allotment of "space" for comment can do justice to a person's opinions. The nature of online interaction is so frquently transitory and immediate. It is also frequently flippant and "reactive" in the sense that it would probably not be a considered opinion.
Why are people so ready to just stop at the comment post level? And why are they so willing to throw away all contact with someone on the basis of these little "sound-bites"? Why drop "socializing" with someone without even bothering to communicate by email why you are falling out with your (former) friend? I recently watched one friend drop another as a freind on the basis of some flippant remarks on a message board. Friend #1 felt that they could no longer post on Friend #2's board because of #2's comments on a issue for which #1 had strong opinions. But the dropping was without direct communication.
Why is this considered an acceptible way of dealing with things? And why is it easier to drop "that barbarian" without taking the trouble to find out another's true opinion? Why is it impossible tohave friends with whom you disagree - even on major issues? As long as you do not believe the other of engaging in actual violence about something, how do you dismiss people so easily from your life?
It is easy to be ruffled by short statements on Facebook or blogs or message boards. But we should all remember that such things are the cyber equivalent of "sound bites." They cannot possibly convey a complete picture of someone else's beliefs and attitudes. And the reverse is also true: your own beliefs and attitudes are not adequately contained in the short statements you make.
We ought to extend mercy toward those we engage with online. Hostility serves no one, persuades no one.
I've noticed something in the last couple of years that has disturbed me a bit. It has to deal with the new social networking sites, and how people communicate on such sites. It is very easy for a person to post a comment or observation on a stie like Facebook, and in the insuing responses have people clash most unpleasantly, to the pint of participants "unfriending" each other and dismissing the "offender" for their consideration forever more.
The problem for me is that no one's comment post on Facebook can actually reflect that person's full opinion or understanding of something. Not even message boards with their greater allotment of "space" for comment can do justice to a person's opinions. The nature of online interaction is so frquently transitory and immediate. It is also frequently flippant and "reactive" in the sense that it would probably not be a considered opinion.
Why are people so ready to just stop at the comment post level? And why are they so willing to throw away all contact with someone on the basis of these little "sound-bites"? Why drop "socializing" with someone without even bothering to communicate by email why you are falling out with your (former) friend? I recently watched one friend drop another as a freind on the basis of some flippant remarks on a message board. Friend #1 felt that they could no longer post on Friend #2's board because of #2's comments on a issue for which #1 had strong opinions. But the dropping was without direct communication.
Why is this considered an acceptible way of dealing with things? And why is it easier to drop "that barbarian" without taking the trouble to find out another's true opinion? Why is it impossible tohave friends with whom you disagree - even on major issues? As long as you do not believe the other of engaging in actual violence about something, how do you dismiss people so easily from your life?
It is easy to be ruffled by short statements on Facebook or blogs or message boards. But we should all remember that such things are the cyber equivalent of "sound bites." They cannot possibly convey a complete picture of someone else's beliefs and attitudes. And the reverse is also true: your own beliefs and attitudes are not adequately contained in the short statements you make.
We ought to extend mercy toward those we engage with online. Hostility serves no one, persuades no one.
posted by Sarah | 1:33 PM
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