Drama: It's Not Just For TV Anymore

Having been on social media for a while, I have met a whole ton of cool people. I mean really cool. People that I wouldn't mind going to dinner with...ya know? Hanging out with. But I have also met a ton of people who seem to only want to create drama, like the remnant actors of some foregone soap opera.

 Facebook and the Restless.

Are we seeing the end of civility because of social media? Are people becoming more emboldened to be rude to each other online because they can get away with it? I mean, after all, we are just a bunch of digital data being transmitted back and forth when we're online. We are not a physical human being who can get punched in the face for calling someone an idiot. We could get away with it and not have to deal with the consequences. We can create all of the drama we want and not have to worry about it at all.

But should we?

Are we being encouraged to create drama?

As an example, have you noticed, on Facebook, that you can hit a "like" button if you like something, but there is no "dislike" button. It would be no big deal to me if I put a status up and someone hit "dislike." It would mean nothing to me. I wouldn't know why they disliked it. No big deal. But instead, the only way that we can let someone know that we dislike something is by commenting. Words, once out there can never be taken back. I wrote about this already, last year, here.   
So the fact that the only way we can say we don't like something on Facebook is by not "liking" it, or by commenting, is a sure-fired way to create drama.

It's almost a recipe for it.

Commenting gets people attention.

Anonymity has made us callous. Not everyone, but it happens more and more often. Perhaps these people were already out there, hiding behind a mask of civility. Maybe when they got home, before FB and Twitter existed, they would plop down on their beds and scream obscenities into their pillows.

Social media has opened my eyes. There are many people out there that have no platform for their thoughts. Some of these people have difficulty with controlling their emotions. Some of these people want other people to hurt just like they are. Some of these people want to watch other people squirm. Heck it's no different than it was when I was in junior high. The only differences is that now these people have a world-wide platform to spew their drama into.

I suppose, in the end, the responsibility we take on, with social media, is to give some thought to what we are posting into the world. Not just popping off at the mouth. We have a responsibility to be civil to each other, whether those around us are being civil or not. If we don't like drama, we need to do our best not to perpetuate it by letting that conversation continue. I know we all feel we have to have the last word, that includes me. Especially me. But is it really all that important?


So that I am not such a Debbie Downer about everything, I would love to give you a list of peeps to connect with on FB and Twitter that are fantastic folks. I love them...No drama in the lot of them :)

Twitter:
@Hilybee                                                 @AliciaASheehy
@JulieFrayn                                             @TyrKieran
@SheilaPierson                                        @DevriWalls
@KirkusMacGowan                                 @KayTheAuthor
@KristenLambTX                                    @A_Soul_Wanders
@thesmboyce                                           @littlelamb
@velveteclipse                                         @UNhasbeentaken1
@BrandonRLuffman                                @zhoniu
@vaempires                                              @JaseR75
@judithdavis4                                          @seanpfarley
@cjlistro                                                   @inkmuse
@jessfortunato                                         @RachelintheOC

FB:

Chuck Wendig
Novel d'Tales (Hilybee)
Cara Brookins
Wenona Hulsey
Jess Lourey
Melanie Gottlieb
Rebecca Henderson Campbell
Andre Hirsch Todorovich
 Marti Sharp (My wife.)

Excellent people without a dramatic bone in their bodies...okay, well some of them have a touch of the dramatic, but they don't tend to call people names and hate everything, so they have that going for them. :)

Please leave a comment and let me know what you think about this topic. Has it always been this way? Is social media just bringing out those who are braver to say what is on their mind? Let me know what you think.