You Asked For It

Social media, by design, is an outlet for people to express themselves, and share their opinions. Anyone with any active social media presence will inevitably see someone, somewhere “complaining” about something, and if you are the average person, it probably annoys you.

Hold that thought, for a moment. Them sharing their opinion annoys you, does it? Is it because you disagree with it? Is it something about how they phrased it? Or is it just the fact that you see it as “negative” and you don’t like that?

Alright, let’s look at what media you consume, and what you post. Are you ever expressing anything yourself that others might find “negative” or “critical” or, heck, just sharing an opinion of any kind? Your thoughts might have an equal reaction with someone else.

Do you watch online reviews of movies, TV shows, or games? Often times they are quite critical on their own – would you call them complaining? You might, but more than likely if you are watching such content you don’t see it as such.

Hell, while you are reading this post, go over your own social media feed and read your posts from the point of view of someone else – you would be surprised how some stuff could be taken, if you can get out of your own mind enough, so to speak, to understand how someone else might see it.

Here’s another thought; when was the last time you commented or reacted to something positive from this person? People tend to only share content that gets reactions since the very nature of social media is discourse and interaction. If it doesn’t get a reaction, you naturally won’t share as much of that style content in the future.

By the very nature of you coming in and complaining about their opinions (somewhat ironic), you push that person towards two actions – sharing more thoughts like this to gather more reaction and discussion, or just going silent. In the end, you basically ask for it! You set up a situation where, even if you have some problem with someone posting content you, for whatever reason don’t like, they are just going to share more opinions of the like because they get reactions.

These people are supposed to be your friends, and by that nature, you should want to hear what they think even if it is “negative” to you. It’s one thing if a person “complains” all the time, and I mean just that – has no context to their venting. It’s another thing though if someone is articulating their opinions as to why they don’t like something: That’s actual criticism and is intended to make someone think, and share insight as to the reasons behind such dislike.

That’s completely valid to share, just as much as saying that you like X, Y, or Z movie, TV show, or game. In my case, I like to comment on social trends, and, as expected, that can  upset some people in mass. Calm down, I didn’t insult you, I just criticized something that’s common and I happen to not like. If you do that action, alright then, maybe now you will know why I am not a fan and we can move on with our lives. I’m not judging you. You love a game I don’t like? Alrighty then, that’s fine too – I’m not telling you that you shouldn’t play it, all I’m saying is that I personally don’t care and these are my reasons. Same thing with, well, most anything. I can’t speak for everyone, but if someone expresses why they don’t like something, and they don’t attack you for liking it, then I don’t see at all where the problem is.

All I’m saying is maybe you should let things be before you criticize someone for criticizing something. It’s quite hypocritical. Oh, yes, I see an irony in this post doing exactly what it speaks out against. That happens sometimes. Deal with it.