Something To Chew On
January 14-20, 2019
By Becca Bona
becca@dailydata.com
#Yikes
I like Alice 107.7’s morning show with Heather and Poolboy. Their banter eases me into the day and keeps me from focusing on the fact that I have to wake up.
One particular morning they were talking about social media as I drove to work.
The question posed revolved around social media pet peeves. In other words – what online behavior drives you crazy?
Heather read one person’s text – “I don’t really have an issue with selfies. If you’re going to post one, fine. But just post one. Why do you have to post an album of fifty or more?!”
Poolboy continued with someone else’s annoyance – “I’m tired of hearing how single this one girl on Facebook is. It’s all she ever posts.”
Heather’s witty response had me giggling – “Well, I’m sure she’s tired of everyone else and their annoying in-love posts.”
I didn’t get to hear much more before getting out of my car – my commute is thankfully a short one – but my wheels were definitely turning. Did I have a social media pet peeve?
Social media is a necessary evil. I would love to wipe my entire slate clean and kill all my accounts – except that I can’t. I use them for work. I brand my writing. It’s a key element of my day-to-day duties, and that’s pretty much that.
When I was younger I let my competitive nature slide into my social media habits. Namely, I would obsess over people in my field locally that seemed to have it all. (Yet another negative thing about social media – it’s never the full picture.)
I had an epiphany a few years back, though, and realized that I could use Instagram and Facebook as a way to connect to those in my field, rather than compare to them. I could simply revel in their work – find inspiration and even ask for pointers.
It turns out this attitude has gotten me a lot further than I would have thought – even opened doors for me. Plus, I’ve made some good friends along the way.
But on that very day after listening to Heather and Poolboy list social media pet peeves, I left an interview only to find mine staring me darkly in the face. Sneering, even.
On my timeline sat a post from an acquaintance. The post was striking to me – a photo of a recent mistake I’d made in this very paper – the Daily Record.
Yes, dear readers, I made a mistake on the front page.
To be honest, with a small editorial staff, mistakes happen. I’m not making excuses – the glamorous job of an editor-in-chief includes raising her hand when she has committed an error. And thus, I held mine up high.
But if I had to write out my social media pet peeve – it would start with negativity. They say don’t read the comments – and I think there’s something to that. Let’s lift each other up – not tear each other down.
Until next time, dear readers, I’ll be raising a glass to anything that starts with #YIKES.
