Internet Diplomacy

On regular days, I open my Facebook and Twitter accounts and idly scroll through the updates and statuses. If time permits it, I listen to some music or watch some videos on YouTube.

Or rather, I used to. Emphasis on the past tense. These days, it's so discouraging to browse through social networks and the like. Everything's just so...trashed up.

I think it's sad how we tend to treat the internet as an outlet for all our emotions (especially the negative ones). Don't get me wrong there. I don't think it's bad per se. That's what blogs and some social networks are for anyway, to let you express yourself. It's a place for aspiring poets and authors to post some of their works. It's where aspiring musicians can let others hear how they sound. But there's got to be some kind of control.

Rudeness is the New Etiquette?
I have contacts on Facebook who think it's totally normal and a hundred percent acceptable to spew out their anger in a status. AND tag the person they're angry with. Honestly, though? It's just not gentleman-like. Or ladylike, for that matter.

I'm not just talking about the outpouring of angry feelings on Facebook statuses. There are also those who debate because of YouTube videos. You have this user who expresses his opinion on the video. Then some other user comes along and lambastes the first user. Pretty soon, things get really nasty and you've got a lot of red-letter words flying across your computer screen.

Suddenly, we live in an age when it's cool to be rude, cool to be mean, cool to be sarcastic (by the way, Facebook has "sarcasm" listed as one of its languages). Suddenly red-letter words and harsh-sounding sentences are considered "witty" and "clever." Suddenly, there's so much meanness everywhere, that it has become the norm.

In the Philippines, there's a concept of pagpaparinig. We're not straightforward. We don't usually confess if we like or admire someone. In the same way, if we're angry, annoyed, or feeling unfriendly towards a person, we won't tell that person flat out. Instead, we'll try to beat around the bush, depending on signs and body language to get the message across so it comes out in a less hurtful way. These days, however, pagpaparinig has been taken to a whole new level: the Facebook-or-Twitter-Status level. The problem with this is that there is a tendency for us to be harsher, ruder, meaner in front of the computer screen since no one can see us, even if they can read what we post. I see many youth these days post status that radiate such bitterness and anger. They don't [usually] tag the person or even place the name of the person they're talking about, but the point is, they're hoping that the person will come across their status and read it (red-letter words dripping with sarcasm and all) and realize that it's all about them.

And if that's not bad enough, Facebook has become something like a gossip channel. Accounts aren't very protected anymore. You can see the juicy, gossipy posts and pictures of your friend's friends. In some cases, you can even jump into the discussion. Twitter tweets, unless protected by the individual users, can be retweeted to over a million people. Recent news can spread in just a matter of seconds.

Though social networks and the internet are great tools that we can use to communicate, to express, to do various things, they can also be tools that will lead to more harm than good.

Scrubbing and Soaping
I remember reading books about the old days. Whenever a little boy would [accidentally] say some bad things, his mom, aunt, or grandma would take him and give his mouth a good washing (soap and all), with the hopes of cleaning (and curing) his "dirty, little mouth."

Unfortunately, I don't think scrubbing mouths will work in this time and age. Scrubbing fingers maybe, since they're the ones that type (haha!)?

Well, we certainly can't direct people with regards to how they should act and what they should say or post. It is something we need to resolve to do. If you're one of those, like me, who hates all those internet harshness, then make a commitment to be one of those who will not contribute to polluting cyberspace.

When you're typing down a status or a tweet or whatever, think first before you click that post button. Ask yourself if it's something that you would like to read. There are many different ways to be clever or witty or funny. Sarcasm is not the only option.

When someone harasses you, when you feel as if it's a bad day, when someone betrays you, take a deep breath and count to ten (or maybe even a hundred) before posting or responding to a message. Don't say any words that you will eventually have to swallow. Don't say things you will eventually regret. Be diplomatic and tactful at all times. Be encouraging. Disagree agreeably (if you have to disagree at all).

Eventually, maybe, the internet will look less like a junkyard of scattered pieces and start looking like a garden of friendship instead.