On Tuesday, I shared a video that I thought was absolutely hilarious. A reporter announced a new team member in the field that was about to be live on air for the first time. This was her debut story.
Thanks, Mitch. “The people er been take du the. I bil gin top fin garb.” I have no idea what she said. She flubbed the ten seconds. Probably the most embarrassing ten seconds of her life. I laughed hard. Then I shared it.
I felt a little bit bad. I would hate for my most embarrassing moment to go viral. But that’s the way the internet works. You share other people’s worst moments in order to get a temporary boost in your own self esteem. The problem was, I didn’t realize that this girl was actually suffering from a form of stroke in that report. It was something, fortunately, many of my friends were quick to point out.
Wow, if I’d felt bad before, I felt horrible now. I don’t know why it made it worst. The fact that she was in literal danger made it bad to make fun of. But the fact that her life was getting destroyed right in front of my eyes was okay.
First problem with the internet: the fact that I felt okay joining in on her public shaming. The second problem with the internet: I didn’t bother to look up the video before I shared it.
I constantly see outdated reports circulating around the internet. Some news outlet picks up a story that’s not only half of the story—it’s completely inaccurate. And even after every news outlet has exposed it as untrue, it still gets shared. Nobody really cares if a story or video is true or good. We just want to share it.
The internet is a mountain of snow. And everything we share is a snowball we roll down the hill. If we aren’t careful, it can become an avalanche of destruction.
I know I won’t be perfect at this. But I want to start being a bit more careful before I contribute to an avalanche of destruction. I want to examine what I share a bit more carefully and provide life instead of death.
That’s my goal for my internet use. Will you join me?