Gone

We’ve all been there before. We get super upset about something or about someone and we tweet something nasty or post an awful Facebook post and then feel guilty five seconds later. We then hastily delete the comment hoping that nobody saw it n the moments it was up. However, it’s time you heard the truth, nothing is ever really gone for good.  

Earlier this semester, a recent alumnus posted a comment in our private sorority Facebook group when she got angry about something. It was only up for about five minutes, but that’s all it took. This hateful post was screen-shotted by only 15 or so girls out of the 240 that were in the actual group. The post went viral, being texted to almost every girl in the chapter within the hour. She thought if she deleted it fast enough, nobody would see her hasty post made in anger, but she was wrong. Later that week, she needed a favor from the sorority for her work, but we all remember what she had posted and nobody wanted to help her because we were so hurt. In five minutes she ruined her trust with the organization.

This is just an example of the fact that we should all think twice before hitting that send button on anything we type. Even a text message could be incriminating. In today’s technological world, we can’t give our enemies or our friends any more ammo than they already have to bring us down. It’s so easy to be ruined over a post on Facebook, or a tweet, or a text or even an email. A rule of thumb I have heard many people use to keep their public information acceptable, is to ask yourself, “If my grandmother read this, would she be ashamed/embarrassed of me” if the answer is yes, then maybe you shouldn’t hit send.

In the end, nothing is ever gone, people will save what you put out there on the Internet and use it against you. The only ting we can do to prevent this, is to be weary of what we post on the Internet.  Nothing is ever truly gone. 

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

There is not doubt that social media has helped us in many ways. The good thing about social is that we never have to be alone because someone is always listening. Just a few situations where social media is good:

1.     When we are the first person to get somewhere and don’t wan to look alone or awkward

2.     When we are unhappy about a product and want everyone to know, including the company

3.     When we need to remember someone’s birthday

4.     When we need to contact someone, but don’t have their number or a phonebook

5.     When we want to say Happy Birthday, but don’t really want to talk to that person

With every bit of good, comes some bad in the world of social media. The bad:

1.     When we don’t pay attention in class

2.     When we don’t pay attention while driving

3.     When we don’t pay attention with friends

4.     When we don’t pay attention at the dinner table

5.     When we care more about what’s on our phone and updating social media than we do about the real world

Then there’s the ugly. Social media has created some problems that just shouldn’t even be a thing. These make me worry about society. The ugly:

1.     Catfishing someone, basically pretending to someone else and having a relationship with a real person via social media

2.     Lying about where we are. This means we lie about being sick for work and then post pictures to Facebook of us with our friends and the boss or angry coworkers can see it

3.     Cheating on ones significant other. Social has allowed people to connect with exs and other people outside of their relationship and there have been some marriages that have ended because of it. Just because the guy can message the pretty girl, doesn’t mean he should

4.     Cyber bullying. Kids are mean, and the Internet allows them to reach more people. It also lasts longer on the internet because once it’s out there, we can’t take it back

5.     Self Incrimination. Employers will search your Facebook profile and hopefully they like what they see, but many times it can ruin the chance for a job. The same can be said for new relationships. People become Facebook friends and they might see something they don’t like on there before you even have a chance to explain why you’ve ‘liked’ the Justin Beiber fan page

With every social media network comes great responsibility to be a good person. With the world watching our every move, we have to be careful what we put out there and what we choose to do with that information.