Having served in the military and having lived in various parts of the country, I have accumulated a diverse group of friends on social media. Prior to the election in November of 2016 my newsfeed was filled with pictures of food, adventures, and family time with the occasional political post or news article. Generally everyone was polite and friendly with little to no trolling. I miss those days.
Since the election of the 45th U.S. president things have gotten rather chaotic every morning when I sit down to scroll through my newsfeed. The first half of 2017 I felt like I had to “suit up” and engage in debate with people I used to have little to no interaction with outside the occasional “Like”. Thankfully things have slowly returned to a new normal. It isn’t quite the “flowers and butterflies” of before but it has become manageable.
There are always political posts from people with varying opinions, news articles about the latest tweet or scandal. But there are also recipes and family pictures to make up for it. I don’t feel like I have to armor up to see what my friends are up to. Yet there are a few people out there whose new “normal” make it very difficult for me to stay engaged.
I ultimately had to unfriend someone on Facebook. I’m a fairly tolerant individual and I like to hear good arguments about both sides of an issue before I weigh in. I know I may come to a discussion with my own preconceptions but I make a concerted effort to set them aside when I engage with someone who has a different point of view. I respect anyone who does the same. What I cannot abide is someone who frequently posts false or misleading information than refuses to discuss their position on any of it. When the volume of such vitriol begins to flood my news feed where every other post is a negative rant against a group of people simply because they look or think differently, something has to stop. Facebook has the option of blocking a person’s posts from appearing on your newsfeed for 30 days. I tried it out and suddenly it was easier to scroll my newsfeed without seeing the hate.
After 30 days and the posts began appearing again I decided an online friendship no longer worked for me. While the posts this person continued to share weren’t directed at me personally, it didn’t always feel that way since this person’s condemnation was directed at many of the issues I support. I tried numerous times to point out factual errors and I cited multiple legitimate sources to back up my position and in return no comments were made; only more garbage posts. Un- friend.
I like having a diverse group of friends with ideas different than my own. It keeps me honest and it keeps me thinking. When a conservative friend of mine shares an article or makes a statement on an issue I listen and try to see it from their point of view even if it’s one I don’t share. So please, dear social media friends, be thoughtful in what you share especially if you know it might be hurtful or offensive to some of your friends. We are friends after all.
End Transmission