I was originally going to title this post "The Death of Human Decency" but thought that might be a bit harsh. But to some degree, I think it is appropriate. So what do I attribute such a title? Simple. Social media.
I remember when Myspace came out. The coolest thing was trying to figure out what song would play on your profile. It was an important decision. I always tried to have something that would take people back to a time that hopefully was good to them. For the longest time, my song of choice was "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" by Gary Portnoy. You know, the Cheers theme song. Good times.
Then along came Facebook and the biggest worry was whether or not the badges we displayed on our pages were funny or cool enough. Soon though, everyone started joining and Facebook stopped being "cool". Now it's full of political arguments and all kinds of other garbage. I'm legitimately concerned about my eternal soul because I am yet to type "Amen" to a post or "Like and Share" that I believe in Jesus. Apparently that is the ticket to Heaven these days. (Not really, but you get the idea I hope.).
While these programs were once used to connect to people we haven't seen in a while or keep track of family across the US or world in some instances, for the most part there platforms are now used to hide behind and bully others. There are so many social media options that kids are using these days to do nothing but tear other kids down. Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, VSCO, and others that I don't know about (Full disclosure: With the exception of VSCO, I have accounts on all of the mentioned apps) have become a way to talk about people and tear others down. It's sad really. My 2 oldest have experienced this and, again in full disclosure, have probably participated in the shenanigans to some degree.
It's as if people have lost the ability to be decent to one another because now, thanks to a smartphone or a computer screen, people can say whatever they want and "hide" their stories so that only certain people see them. The problem is that they make some snarky jab at someone and a screenshot gets back to the intended target. Were we better off when to talk about someone, you had to at least say it out loud to someone and hope that they weren't two-faced enough to go tell the person you were talking about (or maybe you hoped they would)? I don't know but it sure seems that way.
As a parent, I've tried to teach my kids to be good and look for the good in others. I've tried to teach them to model their life after Christ and to build people up rather than tearing them down. Again, I hope that they live each day like this but I'm sure there have been times when they have been the opposite. But the veil that can be used to hide behind with social media has made this tasks harder I think. And not everyone has been taught this lesson. It's sad really. The problem is as more apps are developed, the more prevalent the name calling and bullying will become.
Teach your kids to be decent humans; not only when they are standing in front of someone but also when they are typing on a screen, captioning a photo, or making a 60 second video.
