Drama has no age. Proof lies in the posts on social media. Whether it is Twitter, Instagram, or even Yik
Yak, drama can makes its way into anybody’s life and the only way out
guaranteed for online? Deactivate.
People
should not ever have to deactivate as a last resort, though. Drama should not even happen on social media. Some people are able to knock down the drama,
grow up, and move on, while keeping their accounts up and running. Others… the drama can get pretty intense.
Online drama
can range from problems between friends, to opinions being shared and then
challenged, to break ups that did not end on a mutual level, etc. Indirecting (posting about somebody without
being direct using their name) can sometimes be the trigger to drama online as
the person being indirected catches the post and gets (as expected) angered. The indirecting is a form of a post about
drama.
The main reasons
this drama even takes place are it is easier to instigate and add to online
drama behind screens not face-to-face. You
do not directly get hit back in response to the drama in person and you can
just ignore the drama. The drama is also public, so people (including
strangers) can add to the drama and stand up for whichever side they choose no
matter their location as it is just a mere message sent via the internet and it
is speedy. Then there is the ability to
take as long as needed to think of a good comeback and reply rather than not
being able think of something to say in person or just saying the wrong thing
and not being able to go back and “delete” what you have just said. Online is a medium that can be manipulated,
so anything can be said and then changed or deleted.
This is no
excuse to instantly turn to the internet to start drama. Moreover, why even start unnecessary drama in
the first place. If the problem is
something minor, it is best to keep it on the down low. If it is something incredibly pathetic and
can help others in life if they experience the problem that is starting drama,
then it is best to keep it mature and more of a debate, but usually, the
maturity is not even a factor.
All in all,
if you have drama, stay off the internet.
Drama may or may not have no age. I can't tell -- because you haven't defined your terms. I understand the theatre disinction between comedy and drama, but have no idea what you consider social media drama vs social media non-drama.
ReplyDeleteSo... what objective criteria do you recommend to allow someone (say, perhaps someone commenting on your blog post) to avoid drama? Is there objective criteria, or is it a case of someone judging a post as "drama" if they feel a negative emotion upon reading it?
I offered two rules for my children with respect to communication:
1. Don't offend other people.
2. Don't be easily offended.
I get the impression that far too many people are willing to insist that other people abide by rule #1, without following rule #2 themselves.
I am sure many people can relate to this online drama; either we have witnessed it or been a part of it. I wish you could have twisted the topic or suggested better ways to handle this situation differently. You ended by saying, "All in all, if you have drama, stay off the internet." After reading this, I asked myself, if it were that easy then wouldn't it have been done? Although, I do not expect you to solve this issue. It would have been nice to read a perspective; say something different that us readers would not have expected as the solution. Allow us to say, wow I never thought of that, or wow I never heard of that. I believe a little twist would have made the blog more interesting rather than the typical saying that you ended with, which is easier said than done.
ReplyDelete