Why is there so much negativity on social media?
That’s something I’ve really been wrestling with a lot lately. And I do mean a lot.
Often, I feel like I’m on the fence with removing all social media and just maintaining my blog and personal website and nothing more because of all the negativity. But, I stay connected to Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter still for one reason and one reason only, and that’s to repost my blogs, hoping that it helps to reach more readers who may get something out of my spiritual journey. Yet, as I say that, I experienced something recently that made me wonder if it’s worth it to remain on social media anymore.
I had asked a question to ponder that was simply a follow up to an article I had posted the previous day about a former gambling addiction I had and how I got a great reminder of why I don’t gamble anymore. The question was brief, asking readers what was the most amount of money they had ever lost gambling on something. The first response I got was from someone who asked why I was even asking such a question and then told me I had too much free time on my hands and should go get a job. The second response I got was from another who thought the question was a little too negative and suggested other questions that might be a little better to ask.
When I responded to both, I was honest and had love in my heart by saying that my questions to ponder are never written in negative energy and are only meant to engage people to consider in their own lives the things they might have learned along the way from poor decisions in their past. I also said that maybe if my question didn’t interest a reader in the future that maybe they could just refrain from responding and only comment positively when it did. Because in all honesty, I really need uplifting feedback in my life right now with the level of pain I keep going through and am not looking for constructive criticism, as that only seems to add to my level of pain.
Nevertheless, the very problem with social media is this notion of leaving constructive criticism, which in my understanding is nothing more than one’s opinion and judgment that’s often weighted in negative tones. And a long time ago, when Facebook first came around, I was one of those who constantly left constructive criticism to people’s postings, which only led to plenty of stress and arguing in the digital realm, and of course, a lot more negative energy.
That’s why my rule of thumb with social media these days is to only hit the “Like” button when I relate, connect, or identify with what’s being said. The same goes for commenting. I’ll only leave one when I want to show my positive support, but if I disagree or have an opinion that’s not in alignment with it, I don’t say anything and either keep it to myself or channel that energy into a blog article like this one, where I’ll look for the positive lesson in it all.
And while I agree that social media is a great tool to get information out there for many others to see and something that’s pretty good in connecting people together from the far corners of the planet, it’s also rapidly becoming, if not already become, a dumping ground for all the world’s problems and negativity.
It seems like every time a famous person has a slip of the tongue and says something that’s in poor taste, it immediately gets sensationalized with such negativity in social media that one negative comment is followed after another through countless postings. It’s so frustrating and precisely the reason why I don’t follow anyone on Facebook anymore, nor have a news feed to read.
I just don’t understand why we can’t all just be a little more positive on social media? Why can’t we leave postings that are more slanted to the positive realm and refrain from commenting when we don’t agree with something?
I believe the answer can be summed up in one word, ego.
It’s the ego that feels the need for constructive criticism. It’s the ego that feels the need to argue a point. And it’s the ego that often lives in a negative realm.
Frankly, I’m doing everything I can these days to let my ego die, as it’s my ego that lavished in all that negativity and constructive criticism and arguing points for years, but to what end? To be in a body now that’s riddled with pain, hurting every day, wondering when life will ever feel better again. Trust me, living in all that ego wasn’t healthy for me on any level, as it drove me totally away from God, which is why I choose nowadays to only use social media with positive intentions.
Nonetheless, I still treasure all of my readers on Facebook, even the ones who don’t agree with what I write about. I only pray they understand that I’m looking to create a world of positivity through my writings, including in the comments I receive, as the negative ones only discourage me from doing the very thing that had one intention when I began it. To add more Light into a Universe that’s constantly having to battle against the growing negativity of things, like the growing negativity of social media…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
