Social media

I always said that I would "never" be on facebook.  I always said that I would "never" get a smart phone.  All of that changed when I met some amazing friends at Officer Basic and wanted to stay in touch with them, regardless of where Uncle Sam sent us.  I try to be careful of what I post, knowing that I don't have control over who sees my posts.  I don't have my address, date of birth, eye color, etc. posted for all the weirdos to see.  As an Army Nurse Corps Officer, I also try to be careful of the words I use, knowing it could potentially be seen by anyone in my chain of command or higher. 

That being said, I am amazed at what others feel perfectly OK posting on Social Media sites.  I have recently dealt with a supposed "friend" posting nasty remarks directed at me.  I wonder if she would have posted those comments if I still saw her every day, instead of being on the other side of the country.  I wonder if she realized how rude and hurtful her comments were as she keyed each letter onto the screen?  I also, too recently, lost a fellow ICU Nurse.  He lost his life in Afghanistan, after being deployed for less than 2 months.  The posts on-line from people who didn't know him are appalling.  Some state he died from suicide.  Others state it was homicide by his gay lover.  Would these same people be able to make these comments to his grieving wife and young daughters?  Would they want the same said about them upon their deaths?  Heck, would they even have the courage to fight for our country, much less in the position of an ICU nurse, giving of oneself every time you go to work?

Researchers have found that on-line personas are becoming more and more aggressive, rude, and, if left unchecked, can take-over our real-life persona.  Think of some of the e-mails you've received or read.  Heck, you may have even written some of those e-mails.  Would you ever have the audacity to say those words to someone's face?  Yet, through the wonder of technology, we feel free to say, or rather type, whatever we want.  There are no perceived consequences of our words.  The internet has become the playground for our naughty Id.  We feel free to write whatever we want.  We can even create a persona that isn't us at all.  We can pretend to be a 12-year-old cheerleader, a casting agent for a top model agency, or someone's next-door neighbor.  To me, it's becoming a scarier place to live every day.

I know that I've written things on this blog that weren't the most politically-correct things.  I know that I will, probably, do it in the future, too.  I commit, however, to watching what I write and thinking about how my words could potentially hurt someone else.

I hope all of you have a great day and remember to read-over that posting or e-mail you're about to send.

--DV