**This interview was recorded prior to Covid-19 social distancing/self isolation.** PLEASE STAY HOME AND HELP OUR WORLD HEAL. XOXO
I recently had a coffee date with a good friend. When we get together we cover ever topic you can imagine, always laugh, make fun of each other and leave with an "I love you" and a hug. She's pretty damn great to be around. After leaving our date, my mind began to recall our conversation about posts and comments on social media and something hit me like a hammer. Why was I drawn into reading the negative remarks? Frankly, I began to feel icky about it. It has nothing to do with her awesomeness, but with the awareness of my willingness to silently engage in reading those train wreck threads and continue to be a part of the groups that turn a blind eye to tasteless and uninformed comments and insults. And, that uncovered a question I had never asked before; when did being negative become so popular and so socially accepted? Has negativity become the new normal?
Is It The Need For Acceptance And CommunicationThe internet has opened worlds beyond worlds. Suddenly, a person from another continent is a next door neighbor and the freedom of privacy, a thing of the past. Unimaginable information is available at a keystroke and news outlets eagerly await the next big story, and as much as I would wish it was the opposite, negativity and scandal sells and is gobbled up by a voracious public's appetite.
Social media has become both a blessing and curse. It connects friends, families and strangers in interesting ways. Long lost relatives and mostly forgotten friends are reunited and reacquainted, and distance no longer becomes a roadblock to maintaining those relationships. That is one of the many gifts of social media.
Then there's the other side. The darker more sinister side that allows a person to say things that would never be spoken out loud and make judgements and comments that probably wouldn't be said in person and definitely wouldn't be encouraged in such a gang-type mentality.
I'm sure you've seen or read them, those negative comments or commentary on the internet. Some call them 'keyboard warriors' or 'fake news' used to entice controversy. It's wrong, it's sad and leaves a bad taste for the state of humanity. So then, why has it become so popular to feed the negativity?
Is it the want for communication and the need for acceptance that causes the appearance of camaraderie when there's a dog-pile of criticisms on a post? Is it that finding others with a mutual opinion or view on a topic makes us feel validated or part of a group because it enables back and forth communication however damaging that communication might be?
Have we become comfortably numb to the wrongness of how negativity is viewed as somehow positive criticism on the internet? As Tony says, "If you selectively delberately choose to ensure that you include looking for positive information that fits your worldview will change what you see."
Tony suggests:
It's a behavior choice. In order to change something two things must happen, A. become aware of what you're feeding yourself, B. then you can made different choices.
Switch the channel in your mind to something else. 'Cancel or delete' those thoughts and replace them with what you want.
Interact with positive content on social media.
I will continue my journey into this unsettling phenomena and keep you posted. Until then read these gentle words by one of the greatest heroes of the 20th/21st century.
"The media shows the tiniest percentage of what people do. There are millions and millions of people doing wonderful things all over the world, and they’re generally not the ones being touted in the news."
Mr. Rogers
Dream BIG always and in all ways!
Love Vanessa
PS As per the fabulous suggestion from my co-host hubby on the Every Day Superhero Podcast, here are a few super awesome positively powerful Facebook Groups that are all about positivity, happiness...
