CONNECTED RESPONSIBILITY
As I write this Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, finished his second day of testifying before Congress. I am mentioning this because Mark made a statement that really touches about what I want to focus on this month and that is: relationships.
Mark stated: "My top priority has always been our social mission of connecting people, building community and bringing the world closer together." Personally, even though we have so many more means of communicating with one another there are moments were I feel the way we communicate and interrelate with one another has definitely eroded over time. It's clearly evident in our current political climate.
It's just so easy nowadays to write and say whatever you think and feel at any given moment regardless of what it is or its validity. Not only can you write and say whatever you want but we now have multiple formats by which we can express ourselves whether via a blog, tweet, e-mail, instant message, etc... and "poof" off it goes into virtual space. Whatever was said could be for the entire world to see, could be just for one person, could be for multiple people...whatever the case may be you just expressed whatever it is you wanted to express. Instantly.
I believe we have a personal responsibility to be aware that before we hit send, tweet, share or whatever it may be to recognize that on the other side of that screen there is another human being. That human being or beings is going to read what you just wrote and while I firmly believe that we are all responsible for our own actions we certainly have an ability to influence one another and should therefore attempt to be conscious of the fact that what we say and how we say it has the potential to impact a person(s).
There was a moment I had a little more than two years ago were I received an e-mail that was unequivocally false. I was so overrun with emotion that I lost it and made it a point to prove how false it was and get the apology I knew I deserved. It took me almost an entire day but I made/proved my point and got the apology I was looking for. While I walked away feeling a bit vindicated. I also walked away disheartened at how easy it is to sit behind a screen and say whatever you want without any regard or sense of responsibility for what one chooses to express. I think about that day now amused at how I allowed myself to get so worked up but it's a reminder of how much power words have.
No one could have predicted that all of this technology aimed at "connecting people, with aspirations of building communities and bringing the world closer together" would result in where we are today...Not all of it is bad- I acknowledge that. I do enjoy the ability to explore and see what friends, family and loved ones are up to. Yet, we have to recognize that these tools have potential to do harm and that we can all do our part to make this interconnected world that we live in a little better.
How do we make it better?
One way we make it better by being conscious of the fact that what we say and how we say it, in whatever way shape or form has the potential to impact/influence people. On the other side of this screen, and your screen, are other living, breathing and feeling people just like me and you...deserving of respect.
Respect is a good way to end and segway into my next post, which will be about The Four Agreements, written by Don Miguel Ruiz, one of my all-time life changing favorite books.
Unit then!
