Rebuilding Rob

Friday night, the Chicago White Sox lost their 121st game of the baseball season; making them, on paper, the worst baseball team of the last hundred years. This loss came in a game that also clinched my hometown Detroit Tigers first playoff birth in a decade. But that’s another story for another day.

As the White Sox inevitable march towards baseball infamy has lingered on for months, the team’s social media department has even taken to “cooking“ the team on a nearly daily basis. Check out this article from Bleacher Report. It’s pretty brutal…

Social media made y’all way too comfortable with disrespecting people & not getting punched in the face for it

-Mike Tyson

The social media accounts for fast food giant Wendy’s have also been known for being pretty savage in their own right. Be it their competition or everyday customers, they pull no punches with their posts. Here’s an article that features some of their most famous tweets, as well as some statements on their social media philosophy

Over the last few years as a teacher, I’ve also noticed easily half – if not a majority – of fights that we encounter in schools stem from comments that are made on social media; as opposed to face-to-face interactions between students.

For years, we’ve all heard about social media, and how toxic of an environment it is. Star Wars fans have heard about actresses Kelly Marie Tran and Daisy Ridley both up social media, due to the toxic messages left “fans” (or as they are more appropriately referred to online as “trolls”). This is to say nothing about the fact that the Internet has become a safe haven for hate-mongers, pervs and all-around weirdos.

But this morning, I’m honestly wondering, is social media really is just a the cesspool that pop culture has made it out to be. Or, if perhaps, social media is becoming a venue for peoples unfiltered and sometimes brutally honest thoughts?

At this point, I don’t know social media is a good thing. I don’t know if it’s a bad thing. But I do know that people get a sense of “digital courage” where they’re willing to say things online that they would not dare say to another person’s face in real-life.

What are your thoughts on the toxicity of social media? Is unfiltered honesty a good thing or is it dangerous?

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:

• My Baseball Kryptonite
• The Boy Who Looked at His Feet
• Even White People Get Ashy
• The Tricorder in My Pocket
• Challenger 40: The Generational Echo

The article “The Absolute Candor of Social Media” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.