Yesterday was a rough day, as I am sure it was for many, whether or not they had personal ties or not to the tragedy of September 11th.
Anyways, I personally needed a break from being hit in every direction with media overload so posted what I thought was an innocent status on Facebook "I need to get away from all of this 9/11 coverage so I am going to yoga".
Well, I came out of that class (that in my mind I had dedicated to people directly affected by the attacks), to personal attacks from 2 family members on my Facebook page about their beliefs about how I was handling my feelings related to the day.
What they had said, to me, was inappropriate and rude.
I was embarassed and humiliated that this was all live for many of my friends, family and even work colleagues to see.
The attacking just went on and on from there, at that point in private messages, and today I still remain drained from the whole episode.
I don't really know where I am going with this........or what my point is.
I guess that many of us spend a great deal of time on social networking sites.
Anything we say or do on them can be interpreted and in turn, misinterpreted a certain way.
It doesn't make it any less hurtful or easy to get over.
We are still entitled to our feelings and to say what we want on our own personal page, as long as we are not purposely trying to be hurtful to someone.
It also in my opinion, doesn't give anyone the right to say or do what they want, and then use the excuse that we just "misread their words" so "we" need to "get over it".
Yeah, I know there is freedom of speech and all that, but sometimes, people are just a little TOO FREE with their opinions.
In this day and age, social networking sites ARE a major form of communication so that needs to be taken into account and we need to present ourselves accordingly on them.
In any event, I am probably rambling now, but I have decided that the best thing for me is to take a break from Facebook (at least for the moment).
I don't want to delete my page because there is lots of good that comes from it, however, at this point I will absolutely be limiting the amount that I post on there, as well as limit who I am willing to interact with.
Oh man, I know far to well the feelings you are having. People tend to read into everything with a negative view on social networking sites. When I read your status I immediately thought your mind and body needed a break. It was the way you coped with the day. No one should be belittled or attacked for the way they cope. I am sorry it happened to you. Don't delete your page! When something like this happened to me I blocked my status from being read from my entire family. They were reading into everything and would go back to one another and discuss it. Keep your chin up!
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I had a similar feeling to you (though I didn't post it and kept my page relatively 9/11 neutral as well.) At one point in the day I felt like media was taking over my life too and just got out and took a walk without anything electronic. I do agree that people now are a little too FREE with their words, especially when on social networking sites. But blogs and your our personal pages are OUR domain and should not be attacked.
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolutely beautiful transformation! So pretty and famine now. Had a great time in your blog.
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