As some of you may remember, I started this blog with an article about what my dad thought of TV and the effects it would have on our society. For those who haven’t seen that article, basically my dad felt that TV would turn us into a nation of idiots, thus he called it an Idiot Box. I can’t imagine what dad would think if he could see some of the stuff that people now say and do on the internet today. It never ceases to amaze me the things that people will write in post on Face Book, Twitter and Yahoo that they would never say to another person in a face to face conversation. The internet gives some people the kind of courage to say things that they could never bring themselves to say in polite company. Given that most of us would never say many of the things in person that we post on the internet, let’s make some New Rules!
- New Rule – If you’re married, you’re not permitted to use Face Book or Twitter to search for your old flame, or ex-spouse. If it didn’t work last time, it’s not going to work now and all you can do is cause yourself problems so “Don’t Do It”!
- New Rule – If you’re an adult, don’t use Social Media to fight with your spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, next door neighbor or anyone else. You are after all an adult, if you have an issue with another adult, try talking to that person face to face as using the internet to express your beef will only serve to escalate the situation.
- New Rule – If your kid is in a dispute with another kid, unless there is the potential for it to turn violent, stay out of it. You had your opportunity to be a kid, now it’s your child’s turn! You are not to Face Book the little girl down the street because she’s in a beef with your little sweetheart, if it’s that bad, try talking to her mother. Wow, did I just say that? What a great idea!
- New Rule – No more Face Book on the office computer, your employer pays you to work, not play around on the internet at work. If you work for a large company like a bank, insurance company or other large employer, your internet traffic is probably being monitored. How much of a smuck will you feel like when you have to go home and tell your spouse that you got fired for playing on the internet? Think it can’t happen? I actually know one person to whom it already has, so follow the rule.
- New Rule – We all want to think that our friends want to know what we’re doing every minute of the day, but not really. Fact is that no one really cares if you just finished your morning constitutional, just left the hair salon, nail parlor, golf course and so on. As much as your friends might love you, I am certain that the honest ones will tell you that they don’t want to know about every minute of your day.
- New Rule – There are pictures that should be kept private, so please use some common sense when posting pictures. Try not to embarrass yourself, your family, friends or employer by what you post in the internet, after all the fact that you’re an idiot isn’t their fault and none of them should have to defend you.
- New Rule – We love your kids but there are things that happen to your kids that are best kept within the confines of your home. I personally love reading about the accomplishments of my friends children, but none of us need to know that little Johnny or Sally Sue took their first crap in the potty today. I know, you’re proud, but in the future, just smile and try to keep that excitement to yourself.
- New Rule – If you have racist, homophobic or generally hateful views, do your best to keep them to yourself! Most sane people could care less about your views and in case you haven’t noticed, the people that you think are friends have started to keep you at arm’s length because they don’t want to be associated with your view of the world.
Finally, if you’re going to use Social Media, or comment on something that you read on Yahoo or another internet site, think about your mother’s reaction if she were to read what you’re about to write/post. Most of you know that my mouth works much faster than my brain most days, so the reason that I like to write is that it gives me an opportunity to think before I say something. Unfortunately many of us have the attitude that if it’s written on the net, we don’t have to own it, but nothing could be further from the truth. Even if no one but you or I know that it was one of us who made the idiotic comment on the web, we still know, so my question before I post is always; If my mom reads this, what would she think?
I’M JUST SAYIN