Daily Dish: Judging Other People Online

 

Pamela Chan/BCFamily.ca/Editorial (2024)

Since the following post was written ten years ago, the landscape of social media and online sharing has changed dramatically. In 2024, Canadians tend to share news articles less often on Facebook because links to news posts are prohibited.  As a result, the amount of discussion that took place previously around a wide variety of topics has disappeared and sponsored posts have moved in to take over the available space, and people’s attention.  Generation X, Millennials and Baby Boomers are also sharing less online – including updates and photos of family members – as they pay more attention to privacy concerns and how companies are using their data.  This means that people are signing in on platforms and seeing other people’s content much less frequently than they did ten years ago.

At the same time, image focussed sites like Instagram came on board in the mid 2010s and a fast moving stream of short form content – such as short form video – has become more popular on new social media apps like TikTok.  These new online spaces are especially popular with the younger side of Generation Z, who have not embraced the social media and publishing platforms that are popular with older generations.  They would rather look at short videos on YouTube than watch the content integrated into the Facebook platform, or click on a link to see it in X/formerly Twitter or the new Threads.

Six years beyond 2014, the Covid pandemic arrived and social media platforms became a space where people made quick and damning assessments about the values and priorities of friends, relatives and colleagues.  Many chose to disconnect from the accounts of people who shared opposing views and some even cut off contact with the same people. In 2024, how many of these connections have been re-established? Who is daring to ask?

Do you remember the early days of social media when CEO Mark Zuckerberg would say that social media was a platform for people to connect with friends online?  Do you think that this goal is being achieved in 2024? As we think about how our online behaviour and perspectives have evolved in the last ten years, do you like the direction that you and others are taking in terms of how social media tools are being used to further the goal of communication and connection?

Pamela Chan/BCFamily.ca/Editorial (2014)

As usage of social media and other communication technologies continue to develop, that which makes us unique as individuals is being lost in the cacophony of noise online. It is also increasingly common to hear people making snap judgements and assessments about people they know and complete strangers based on the other person’s digital trail.

  • “He uses Facebook a lot.”
  • “She shares her whole life online.”
  • “I never pay attention to what she writes. It simply doesn’t interest me.”
  • “He’s argumentative and offensive.”
  • ” I don’t want to read all that spiritual s**t.”
  • “Photos of babies, babies and more babies. That’s all you see.  She’s a Momma Bear. I get it.”
  • Some of us partake in viral campaigns such as vague status updates to support a cause or viral fundraising efforts to support a charity.
  • Photos of family members, and information about their activities, are shared online and are viewed by contacts around the world.
  • We can all chip in and agree about the content of an article, even though we are often quite different as individuals and live in different parts of the world.
  • We tend to follow trending news stories.
  • We share the same popular articles and videos.

The flattening out effect of this “sameness” means that someone living in Brazil can seem to be living a life that is very similar to someone in rural British Columbia. This conclusion is almost certainly unlikely to be true; however, if the information shared by people in both regions has a similar tone, it’s easy to make such an assessment.

The lifestyles and priorities of individuals in communities around the world can be markedly different.  In some parts of southern Europe, people eat late and stay out late, socializing until the wee hours of the morning.  In many major Canadian cities, individuals and families are eating before 8 PM, and the streets are dead quiet well before midnight.   People living in these different regions adhere to popular social media standards for presentation of information rather than sharing information which highlights their own unique individuality online and the specific flavour of living in their communities.

Part of the reason behind this feeling of a universal and generic quality of what we share is that others can take efforts for granted or develop a cynicism about regular contributions online if it appears to be different.  Some might take umbrage at the type of information or comments that is shared if the content doesn’t align exactly with their own beliefs. Others take pride in the fact that their friends think and live just like them.  You might see a friend, relative or colleague write with confidence that “of course all my friends here share the same political beliefs as I do.”  Some people might even feel offended by a status update, link shared or comment. If the subject being discussed touches on a sensitive subject, the reader might even layer their own anxieties and concerns that are completely unrelated to the intent of others.  This is how so-called “echo chambers” are formed.

Our tolerance for “the other” – especially for the stranger who is unknown to us –  is at an all time low.  When we have a preset notion about why people are doing what they are doing, we can come to incorrect conclusions and we can alienate others.

Let’s stop and think things through.

Let’s let people be.

Let’s stop the snap judgments.

Let’s remember that other people’s business is not our business.

How do you feel the online and social media space has changed in the last decade? You can comment about this posting on the BCFamily.ca Facebook page. Your contribution matters so don’t be shy!

Daily Dish Archives: Pamela Chan, BCfamily.ca