Over time Facebook has become a site for unfiltered commentary. Users can type or post anything to their heart’s content without inhibition or confrontation. It’s a place to air one’s grievances or to vent about personal issues.
In order to gain cyber attention people resort to offensive, demeaning and even violent posts.
There are multiple examples of this we can draw upon.
Many utilize national tragedies such as the Boston Marathon Bombers as ammo to justify their own personal political ideologies. We all have that Facebook friend who connects world events to his own wacko conspiracy theories.
“I knew it, I knew Czechs were part of the Illuminati”
It’s like we’re evolving into this emotionally constipated generation. “Who cares what’s going on if it’s not happening to me?”
We get so caught up in trying to be the loudest voice, we forget that we’re talking about events that have permanently altered people’s lives. To you it might be just another news story. For someone else, he or she may never be able to walk again.
There is also a modern day fight video obsession. In the moment it may seem funny or amusing to post a video of someone getting beaten, but it can be extremely offensive to others.
Not only does this promote disdainful behavior in youth, but we’re teaching future generations to simply be immune to harassment, to simply turn the other cheek when others could be in serious danger.
There are also the users who utilize Facebook as a mean to confront someone. Private, personal matters should probably be discussed in person. Users forget that hundreds of people can see their conversation. This is humiliating for both parties involved, and annoying for the audience who has to watch.
This article is not the rant of an overbearing helicopter mom trying to police the internet. Nor is this an attempt to bash the First Amendment and infringe upon the foundations to our universal right of expression.
We owe it to ourselves to learn there is such a thing as Facebook etiquette, which requires a level of respect and maturity that is above offensive, spineless material.
We’ve become so careless that we forget our words do carry leverage.