Backspace the Hate

It has become very simple for your fingers to go on a frantic rampage on the keyboard and express to the internet on where you stand on a certain topic. Sure, you are exercising your First Amendment right and there is nothing wrong with voicing your thoughts or concerns. The problem is when the posts are bashing about a culture or demographic that are being framed by politics and/or mainstream media without any research to back it up.

Social media has become a soap box for many but, is it appropriate to jot down every vile opinion for the world to see?

Since the recent election, there has been an uprising of posting hateful and bitter messages across Facebook and Twitter about the issues that our country is facing. The Muslim ban and securing the Mexican border are hot topics that shine a bad light to that certain culture. It is not fair to assume that one bad apple will spoil the whole bunch.

To prevent hate speech from spreading, Twitter is in the works for creating a “safe search” feature that will remove tweets that contain sensitive content as well as block and mute accounts from the search results.

That is one step towards taming the fire of Hateful posts. One thing to remember is to act professionally and be respectful to others regardless if you both are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Treat others the way that you want to be treated.

Before posting something on any social media platform, go through a mental checklist.

Examples to add to your list would be to ask the following questions:

Am I posting this with a purpose?
Is it accurate?
Is this post going to build others up or down?

Spread words of encouragement and express compassion towards others. Be humble and realize that the internet is a universal tool that contains many cultures other than your own. It is a place where everyone should take advantage and exchange insightful ideas from each other no matter what shape or color each individual is molded into.