What Social Media Shouldn’t be

So I’m trying my hand at this thing that the cool kids do called tweeting (I have no idea if it’s even cool or not and I think I’m ok with that. I think).  In any case, I like the idea of trying to express thoughts and stories that impact others and it seems like the new outlets for social media are the way to do that in the current age. 

I had this thought a while back about how millennials (my generation) seem to be a generation of commentators.  There are a lot of people my age and younger who make a living and spend a lot of their time writing and talking about other people, their lives and their content. 

I realized that what concerns me about some millennial commentators, and even some no millennial ones, is the Snarkiness.  I don’t like snarkiness. I think that’s a word even though Microsoft Word is telling me it isn’t a word.  

Snarkiness is that sort of cocky, sometimes mean spirited cynical attitude that can make it easy to spout off whatever comment you want about whoever who want without thinking about the effects of those comments.

I like the idea of thoughtful comments.

 Don’t get me wrong: I'm all about sarcasm and satire and biting humor. Yet even if we are making light of or making a sarcastic comment about someone who perhaps is making questionable choices (Cough KANYE –KANYE WEST cough!) those comments can still be used to say something greater and perhaps even reach the person we are satirizing. Biting humor also serves to show a viewer just how ridiculous or serious something is.

At the end of the day what I’m not fond of this idea that people can just say whatever they want and others just need to deal with it; this “nothing is sacred anymore” idea. 

There are sacred things and I have to believe there is always room to make talk and ideas and humor into something that is meaningful and without cynacism.

And of course, truth is a major concern when attempting to do so.

Thanks,

Christopher