Social Media & Politics

This post is not going to talk about how I feel about the outcome of the election.  I’d be happy to talk about that adorable pic of Piper and their election for Whoppers or Skittles, but not about the US Presidential Election.  It’s election season, so I feel like we all need to have this conversation together.

Do you remember when social media was just a fun, happy place to kill time, procrastinate, check out your favorite photographer’s new pics, or have hilarious conversations on a friend’s timeline?

Me, too.

Oh, day-after-election-day, this is just too much.  My social media loving heart can’t take it anymore! All the arguments, the opinions, the anger, the negativity – social media was my safe haven from those things.  Except every 4 years.  Every 4 years I want to run into a hole and hide because I love all of my friends and acquaintances and I don’t want to argue with them.

Don’t get me wrong.  I care a lot about the issues.  A. Lot.  But guess what? If you want to ask me about them, I’d be happy to tell you.  Not via my business page, my social media page, or anything other than a polite in-person debate or phone call.  I’m actually all about hearing anyone’s side, and supporting them in their beliefs, because I think that we can all be friendly if we really, really try.

There’s a big challenge in the social media world: it’s easy to feel powerful behind a keyboard.  To say the things that you really want to say, and feel as though there are no repercussions.  Here’s the thing, guys.  There are.

Is your profile private?  Does your profile say where you work, what business you own? That doesn’t go unnoticed for people who are invested in you and what you do.  All of that may not matter to you, and if so, it is what it is.  I know that I don’t want to lose a client because of who I decide to vote for on Election Day.  I know that I’d rather be a light of positivity than be the beacon of despair that so many are lately on social media.

What you put out into the world is always going to effect you in some way – you may lose a friend, you may change the perception that people have of you, you may lose a potential client.

Etiquette goes so far beyond the election day.  We live in an era where we find out information because someone posted it on Facebook or texted a screenshot of something from Snapchat or from our Instagram feed.  I literally have found out major life-altering things about close relatives from someone’s Facebook.  Come on, guys.

Here’s my point: as much as I love social media and being personal on social media – let’s make social media fun again.

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