Consider this:
- I can’t name one person who likes it when door to door salesmen or someone belonging to a religious organization rings the bell and begins the hard sell after we open the door. Yet, many of the same people who hide behind closed curtains rather than saying “no thank you” also send spam via Twitter DMs and email.
- Very few people punctuate their sentences with “Rolling on the floor laughing my f***ing *ss off,” or “what the f***?” Yet that’s what so many adults and kids punctuate their sentences with online.
- We don’t attend a discussion or seminar, listen to the speaker and then step up to the mic and say, “you’re wrong, douchebag” yet that’s how many people choose to respond to blog posts they disagree with.
- When we see an executive from a major brand in the grocery store or mall, we don’t yell out about our poor service and call him and his company names because we happened to get a really inept customer service person. Yet, that’s what folks do every, single day on Facebook on Twitter.
- We’ve heard about co-workers who sabotage others in order to advance up the corporate ladder, but that’s not the norm. In the blogosphere it happens all the time. Bloggers attack and discredit because they’re not confident enough in their ability to get ahead on their own merit.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m old and out of touch, but am I the only one who cringes at some of these online exchanges?
The same people who are teaching their kids to do unto others and not say anything if they can’t say anything nice, are doing the exact opposite online. Teens are swearing up a storm, even if they’re not quite spelling out the words. Adults are acting as they did in the high school cafeteria. And suddenly, it’s all becoming acceptable.
Where do we draw the line?
I need a nap.
