Weekend Take on Social Media. . . .

This may be a little bit of  a rant but, a few of these have just really irritated me lately.  The back story is I have joined this group on Facebook that is a financial motivational site.  I joined in the hopes of learning something new.  I am a firm believer in reading and listening to what others have to say because I just might learn something new.  I am also a member of a community watch group on Facebook so that I can keep up on the crime situation in my area.  I rarely post in these groups, I just like to stay informed.
Several months ago we had a group of people that were a little sketchy going through neighborhoods ringing door bells and knocking on doors.  If you did not answer the door they would sometimes proceed around the back and side of your home checking doors and windows.  One of my girlfriends had posted a similar situation on this crime watch site and I commented back to her about someone ringing our door bell that same week and that I had sent my hubby to the door.  I shared that comment directly to my friend but within that group.  If you do not know my hubby you would not understand the significance of sending him to the door.  He takes glee in aggravating sales people because that is what he does.  He pesters them with insane irrelevant questions about their products and then after he has worn them down he tells them he is not interested.  The telemarketers do not call anymore because of what he use to do to them on a routine basis.  I do love him though, he keeps me laughing.
So after I had made that comment on Facebook to my friend so man I do not know posts to me and says something in the way of; "how rude, not cool."  So I posted back to him; "Pardon??"  He never responded and I have not seen him post anything else in that group.
I shared all of this to pose this question. Why do people think it is ok to just post something nasty to people they do not know, about things they do not know?   I think it may be this whole anonymity thing, they feel like they can say what ever they want because they do not know you and probably will never see you.  I guess I was raised a little different, I would never speak to people they way some folks do whether I knew you or not.
I am just appalled sometimes by what I read others post on Facebook in comments to news or even personal Facebook pages.  This is where I believe the internet has failed us as a society, we use Facebook as a means to bully, slander, and in general be mean to others.  Why?  Why would someone feel the need to post something nasty or hateful to someone you do not even know.
Today, I was reading some of the posts this afternoon and they were talking about Dave Ramsey, and you all know how much I love him and that I follow his plan.  You know Dave hates credit cards and he does not think anyone should use them.  Someone had posted how they use theirs to get free points and all of the perks and that they pay theirs off every month so they do not pay interest.  Someone else in the group, a loyal Dave follower, responded pretty harshly about using credit cards.  They called this person stupid and how could they be so dumb.   I do not like credit cards but I would never tell someone I did not know that they were dumb for using one.  I do not think I would tell someone that I did know that they were stupid for anything.
I think the election and the news media are also partly to blame.  This past election has brought out the nasty on both sides and it does not seem to be dying down at all.
Why do people feel the need to be this way?  Do they behave this way in their face to face relationships?  Would they act this way to one of their friends?  I think Facebook has caused us to be less social.  They call it social media, I believe that is a misnomer, it is an anti-social media.  We do not have face to face interaction or write letters to anyone you just Facebook people.  I must admit I am guilty of that too sometimes.
My questions for the day:   No judgement here.
Have you posted something negative to someone you do not know on any social media site?

Did you feel bad after the fact and wish you did not post it?

Have you had someone that you did not know say something mean to you on social media?

How did you react?

I genuinely want to know your reaction so please feel free to comment negative or positive.

Technology and the Media. . .

Some days I think, have we really come as far as we think we have with regard to technology.  There are many days that I feel we would be better served without all of our technology that we seem to depend on so much.  With the influx of all of our "fabulous" technology we have opened our homes and our children up to predators of all kinds.  Bullying used to be only at school, now it follows our children home on their cell phones and computers thanks to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
I know I am a dinosaur and you, like my kids, probably think I grew up in the dark ages but I think I grew up in the best time.   Our news was on only two times per day for an hour maybe two at a time.  I am not saying we do not need to be informed of what is going on but, not everything is news worthy.  Some days I think they are just trying to fill their 15 hours for their news slot.  Let's take the weather, my hubby calls these folks "weather weenies," please do not get me wrong I know we need to know when we have severe weather approaching and I am very thankful when they alert us.  Let's be honest, you have seen it too, when the weather person is almost giddy while talking about a tornado or a snow storm approaching.
I also grew up watching "Andy Griffith" and "I Love Lucy."  I like Facebook just like everyone else but I am shocked most days at the things I see on there.  I use it to keep in touch with my family and friends that do not live near me.  With all the things going on in our Country this last few weeks I have seen some very nasty and negative things posted.  This is where I think the news media use social media to stir up trouble.  They post things in the guise of news in the hopes to create trouble.  It works, you can look at any "news" (I use this term very loosely) post on Facebook and look at the comments to see people attacking each other.   They are just like teenage girls waiting to see how many comments they can get from that post.  What ever happened to unbiased news coverage?  I do not think I have seen an unbiased anything from the news media in decades.  

Techno Tuesday. . . Social Media

What is it about social media that makes people think they can just say anything to anyone?   I have clicked on news feeds comments section and I am amazed at what some people say and how rude they are to people they do not even know. 
Is it because they are not saying it  in person that they believe it is ok?   Why say something ugly and hurtful to someone, especially someone you do not know?  What purpose does that serve?  Not that it is ok to be hurtful to the people you know.  I just think I would understand it better.   I know some  are just out to cause drama and see if they get a reaction from people, they crave the attention. 
This is one reason I have not let my kids on social media.  Kids are mean enough in person, add a little distance and anonymity and you are just asking for trouble.   I have a few friends that let their kids have a social media account and they shared terrible things their kids have had to deal with.  
It is sad that we as adults cannot set better examples for our kids and others.   I believe it all goes back to the respect issue.   There is a huge lack of respect all over but, especially among young people. 

Digital Footprint continued. . .

I posted last week about our digital footprint and I would like to talk some more today about it.  I was reading an excerpt from an article for my online class this weekend about this very thing.  I will have to share their statistics on how many employers actually look at social media sites of prospective employees.  These statistics are very interesting.  The employers surveyed for this article used Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter to investigate potential employees.  When looking at these sites employers are looking for potential behavior or attitude problems.  This article reports that 91% of employers it surveyed used social media to scope out prospective employees and 69% reported they had rejected prospects based on their social media sites.   There were a few employers that had requested Facebook log in and password information for prospects.   Just remember that is only the ones we know of, I am sure there are many more.   If you really think about it I would bet if the company really wanted to see your private Facebook information they could find a hacker to get it for a nominal fee.  I hate to say all of this but, it is our reality of a technology crazed world.
Here are my tips for surviving  a job search or even a college entry in our techno savvy society.
  1.  Do not post questionable content (lewd pictures, pictures of you drunk or passed out etc.)
  2.  Do not criticize past employers or colleagues
  3.  Do not use foul language in your posts.
  4.  If you think something is questionable ask someone 20 years older than you, if you are embarrassed to do that do not post it.
  5.  Use strong passwords for your accounts and do not use the same password for multiple accounts.
  6.  If you have posted something that may be questionable go in and delete it and clean up that profile.

According to this article these employers said they had hired employees for something they had posted and they had also rejected someone for something they had posted on their social media sites.

Parents, please be proactive with your kids accounts.  As a parent you should have all of their passwords and log in information for each account they have.  It is our job as parents to make sure they do not ruin their reputation before they are old enough to even have a reputation.  Stay vigilant.

Techno Tuesday. . .

People are losing jobs, being arrested and getting divorced all because of some type of technology.  A woman posts something nasty about her job and she gets fired.   A man posts a picture of himself with another woman and ends up divorced.  Two girls post pictures of themselves in dresses that they had shoplifted earlier that day.   They are later arrested.  These are just a few of the headlines I have seen just this year.
Anyone looking for a job these days better clean up their online fingerprints if they expect to be taken seriously.   My brother in-law had a job interview more than 10 years ago and his prospective employer looked him up.  Funny thing was the employer could not find anything on him.  He has no profiles on any social media. The employer asked him about it the day of the interview,  my brother in-law replied simply that he did not have time for things like that. 
I share this story just to show you that this does happen and more frequently than you think.  I am shocked at the teens and young adults that post pictures of themselves and others intoxicated and passed out.  These do not say I am a reliable employee.   I would not be surprised if colleges do not look into prospective students' online fingerprints.  They may not advertise that they do this but you can bet they are.  
I am thankful I grew up and did all my stupid things before the internet. 

Internet and Social Media Safety

I am going to get on my public address soap box today.  A friend of mine shared one of her friends posts about a man, and I use that term loosely,  that is stalking young girls on Facebook.   Here is my beef.  If you do not know someone personally why on earth would you be friends with them and open your whole life up to them on Facebook.  When I say personally, I mean a face to face knowledge of them.  Everyone on my Facebook I have a face to face relationship and I don't understand people just accepting friend requests if you do not know the person.   I think young people are especially guilty of this.  This is a dangerous practice because this is how pedophiles,  perverts,  and stalkers get started.  This is also how your profile picture could get stolen and a new  Facebook account could show up.  Think about all of the things that you share and the pictures that you post on social media.  Now would you want just anyone seeing these family pictures or knowing some of the things you might share. Please educate your kids if they are on social media.  I think kids are the most susceptible to these kind of things and they are also guilty of the over share on social media. 
We have been submerged in all of this technology and there is so much that we as adults still need to learn.  Do not forget about your kids,  they are conditioned to jump in and embrace all new things.  It is our job to remind them to be cautious.  The old look before you leap adage.