Perhaps it’s because I’ve been having fun in Chicago the past few weekends and I’m exhausted and as I always do after these fun weekends, I wrestle with myself about whether we made the right choice to settle here in Louisville 22 years ago.
Perhaps it’s because Hudson, the almost one-year-old puppy has had some sort of GI issue the past week, won’t stop vomiting and we spent over $1000 at the vet this morning trying to diagnose her.
Perhaps it’s because a bird flew into my office window and is laying on the patio outside, not moving, and my husband is out of town and I’m grossed out and won’t deal with it.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve been to two funerals in the past week and have to go to a visitation for a fourteen-year-old child tomorrow.
I’m just sort of down right now.
But honestly, I don’t think it’s any of these things.
Lately I’ve been waking up wondering if social media – the industry in which I have built a career – is the culprit of all of our social problems. Society seems to be crumbling these days. People hide behind their keyboard and scream obscenities at each other as if it doesn’t matter because we’re all “anonymous.”
Look at the Charlie Kirk situation and the divide this country is in over whether or not his life is worth grieving.
Look at all the mass shooters and how the evidence continues to prove they’ve been radicalized online.
Look at all the people screaming “Ceasefire now” and have less than 0% of a knowledge base about what is going on in the Middle East.
Look at all the AI images and people being misquoted and idiots turning into “journalists” online.
It’s enough to keep one in bed all day, unable to deal with reality.
But here’s the thing.
My father has always said “put one foot in front of the other and trudge on.” So there’s no choice here. I can’t lay around hoping for all of my social feed to be labrador puppies and “the we do not care club.” I’ve got to get up everyday, and try to put some good out into the world. My friend Jeff Rushton once told me that’s why social was created… and for so long it’s how I practiced.
So… time to get back to that. The clients I work with – they put good out into the world through their products and services. They aren’t out to swindle or fool anyone, they just want to use the platform to share their story and hopefully it resonates with someone out there who can use it.
Not participating in social isn’t an option – especially when your career is built on it. So each of us have to find a way to make it a better place to be. My advice:
- Take a beat before you post. Do a tiny bit of research to be sure what you’re sharing is real. And if it’s seems illogical, it IS.
- Be kind. Don’t troll someone’s post you don’t know and leave angry messages – what purpose does that serve? Just be kind.
- Think of a way to spread something on social that makes someone else smile. Don’t look for the “gotchas;” look for the “I get yous.”
I can’t shut off my phone. But what I can do is use it for good. I hope you’ll join me.
by 
