This morning, I saw a rant on Facebook (and it wasn’t a political rant like I fully expected to endure the morning following a debate. I think we all secretly missed Donald and the entertainment factor he brings to the table)….but, anyway, back to rants on Facebook. We’ve all seen them, haven’t we?
I “like” several animal rescue organizations so I see a LOT of heartwarming rescue stories but also many abuse cases posted to bring awareness to a crisis situation. The abuse stories with accompanying photos always incite conversation~ from the appropriate “How can I help?” to the “I’d like to ***** strangle this ***** and then burn his body and then feed him to a big *** coyote in the middle of the ***** desert.” Okay, cowboy. We get it~ you’re angry. We’re all angry.
I also like to eat good organic food when possible so I “like” some Vegan, vegetarian and organic food pages. That grants me the ability to see a lot of great recipes but there’s always a troll or two on the feed that has to bash someone’s decision to not eat a chicken. Someone not eating chicken ticks you off? REALLY? I also “like” a page created for an 18 year old young man in the hospital with cancer. He likes dogs and so someone created the page for Anthony as a means to post dog photos to simply cheer him up. Yesterday, someone posted on the page that they were sick of people posting too many pictures of their dogs.
When did we become so damn mean?
When did people just stop being polite to one another? When did basic kindness and consideration go dormant?
So the rant on Facebook that I saw this morning was about despising the site as a whole. I mean, I GET it. I, too, thought I had a love/hate relationship with Facebook once upon a time. This person vented about how Facebook sucks up valuable time, how people have “fake lives”, how people “brag” about their accomplishments and their kids that no one cares about and about how easy it is to have inappropriate relationships through private messaging.
So….. I sat down with my organic oatmeal and my dogs by my side and unfollowed them. It’s not my monkey and it’s not my circus. It’s not that I don’t understand their frustration but may I take the liberty of pointing out a thing or two that MAYBE they’re overlooking?
A. Facebook doesn’t suck up time. PEOPLE waste too much time. People forget to be present with the people right in front of them. People care more about someone else’s life than their own. Enough said.
B. Fake lives? I doubt very much you’re going to see too many photos of women sans make-up, hair mangled from going to bed straight from the shower and wearing their flannel pj’s from 1998. You’re also not going to see a lot of men post photos of their bald spots, their pudgy belly or their favorite pair of shorts that should have been taken to the curb last year. People are going to primarily show you what they want you to see. Duh.
C. Maybe someone does care that they got a promotion or that little Jimmy got an “A” after failing last semester. I’m pretty sure that you don’t own their right to be proud and get some encouragement. Do we need to see post after post about the “A”? No, not really but we have no idea what it took for their kid to get an “A” so let’s just take one for the team.
D. Inappropriate relationships existed before Facebook. They existed before Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone. Is it 
easier now with Facebook and text and the other multitude of instantaneous access we possess? Yep. That’s not the fault of technology, though. That’s the fault of the person using their fingers to type.
I see the irony here. I was irritated by a rant and now I’m ranting. I’m just so tired of people not encouraging each other, not respecting each other, blaming a website for their personal dysfunction and hiding in front of a computer screen while they tell parents to keep mum about their kids.
Rant over. You may return to Facebook at the conclusion of this sentence….or, better yet, take a walk, read a book, write a blog, play with the dog or take a bath.
See you tomorrow.
Amy