"Social Media" can, yes, be a great source of family news and photo sharing among family members and friends, but it also has a very dark side as well!
Social Media does not "cause" people to develop vicious tongues, but it can encourage them to do so (as in "monkey see, monkey do") and can give them an easy outlet for doing so! People are able to access more and more information on one hand, while they have not yet developed the ability to discern what is of value or true on the other!
I have never been tempted to "sign up" for Facebook, for that very reason. I hear from many people who do have accounts on Facebook, even relatives, about how much gossip, viciousness, rumor-mongering, grudge-sharing and cruelty is spread, sometimes anonymously, on social media sites.
It is not the only outlet for vicious tongues. It is only one of the methods causing our "epidemic of vicious tongues" as it funnels the spread mean, angry, reputation-ruining, jealous and grudge-sharing words. Teenagers are most certainly not the only ones causing this viciousness to spread. This doesn't just happen on the latest TV episode of "Mean Girl Murders," this is now happening in the highest levels of our government!
The hate-filled, no-boundaries "name calling" coming from Washington D.C, even from so many of our elected officials, is escalating by the day and becoming more and more fierce - even when you think it can't get any worse! TV news, news sites on the computer and newspapers are filled with anger and hate! It seems to me that our politicians are actually teaching us that it is OK, even commendable, to vomit hate for people who disagree with you or think differently from you or look different from you or believe differently from you! Revenge, even wrapped in religious excuses, has now been unleashed on our culture and is becoming normative so quickly that it makes my head spin! This needs to stop NOW!!!!! We should all stop it and we should all offer firm fraternal correction whenever we hear it!
What can I do to help people choose another way? Fewer and fewer people are listening to "spiritual leaders" like myself, so I am less than hopeful that this blog post will change many minds, but I will keep trying regardless!
This blog is called "An Encouraging Word." Before this, I had a weekly column in The Record for fifteen years by the same name. My "thing" in both efforts is not to look for sins to condemn, but goodness to affirm, so let me pass on a few suggestions I found on the internet. I incorporate some of them in this blog and try to follow them in my personal relationships. The bottom line in this posting is certainly not to suggest a "if you can't beat them, join them" philosophy, but rather I am happy to offer some alternatives to this super-destructive trend! To address the issue of "an epidemic of vicious tongues," consider these strategies:
1. Promote open dialogue to encourage understanding and reduce hostility.
2. Foster empathy by sharing personal stories and experiences.
3. Encourage conflict resolution techniques in community discussions.
4. Limit exposure to negative influences, such as toxic media or gossip.
5. Advocate for kindness and respect in all forms of communication.
6. Lead by example; model positive speech and behavior in your interactions.
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