Response to "5 Questions to Ask Before Posting to Social Media"

Well, the youth pastor did it again. It’s like he knows I need an article that I actually am interested in, so he shares one right before I think about writing the article that I have chosen. Oh well. This one was pretty interesting. Cara Joyner, the author, titled it “5 Questions to Ask Before Posting to Social Media.”

I have found that each question was very important to think about before posting. The bottom line comes down to our intention. Why is it important to post this? What is so important that everyone needs to see this? This has been a little bit of an issue since my younger brother, Kirk, received an iPod touch for Christmas, with capabilities to use social media.

Since then, he has been tempted to post, and at first, he posted multiple times every day. Because of that, my parents decided to put a limit to the number of times he could post a day. Sometimes I think that other people should have that same limit. I scroll through and see countless posts all from the same person that include all of the personal details of his or her life.

Our culture needs to get back into being personal with each other and actually having relationships with other people. Some things don’t need to be posted, and if you can’t do it in person, then email. Some of the personal messages that I see on social media do NOT need to be there. I see tweets back and forth that could be said through texting.

I admit, sometimes it is fun to send something across the room and see how the person it is intended for reacts, but if it is constant, it seems so childish. Social media has been turned into a game. Everyone posts to get others attention, causing problems that don’t need to be there.  

The main reason that people post onto social media is the feeling of being liked. People post to see how others feel about the subject, and if it is a picture, they want to know how much everyone likes what they posted. Many people use the social media, Twitter, as a way to decide just how funny they really are. Unfortunately, many of these clever things have taken far too long to come up with, which takes away from those who can actually come up with comical things on the fly.
Cara uses her own personal experience to inform readers about how important it is to search beyond the surface and find the motive for each post to social media. The questions that she encourages readers to asks themselves are these: 1. Am I seeking approval? 2. Am I boasting? 3. Am I discontent? 4. Is this a moment to protect? 5. Is it kind?

#4 is probably the hardest for me. This may sound confusing, but she explains it this way: "Not every great moment needs to be shared. In fact, some of the best times are most enjoyed privately. If we suspend the present in an attempt to capture its beauty in 140 characters or less, we sacrifice our experience of the moment itself. We also rob each other of something that has been lost in our digital age—keeping a handful of memories between us and those we are closest to, or even just between us and God." Oftentimes I ruin moments that should be perfect because I whip out my phone. My friends and I have had several conversations within the past week about this, but I have failed to realize that I am just as much to blame.

So, what will you do? I urge you to think twice before you post from now on.