In this Facebook society we live in, we are immediately aware, confronted, bombarded, and exposed to everyones two cents on breaking stories and events. Here are my two: 1) the water cooler conversations of yesteryear were limited to a handful of colleagues or friends who often were exposed to a speakers body language, inflection, and context, and the speaker could often recognize if their intended message was being misunderstood or hurtful to a listener. In Facebookland, we dont see our audience and may not realize that our well intentioned commentary has been received as hurtful, insensitive, or causing pain. There will be plenty of time for ongoing discussion, but remember that topics such as depression, addiction, and suicide have impacted others and their loved ones in a variety of ways and in the highly emotional time after a death of someone prominent such as Robin Williams may not be the most appropriate time to share your theology, views on the broad spectrum of mental illness, or the destructiveness of various choices someone has made. 2) Empathy and sympathetic comments are not necessarily endorsements of the situation, but is often simply a sign of being humane, showing care and concern for others, and a need that many of us have to interact with others when a tragedy occurs. I cant control the media or others, but I can be judicious and sensitive when posting on a public forum such as Facebook.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 23:39:45 +0000
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