The Rest of the Story

In my last blog entry I lamented the “dark spaces” of the Internet in regard to the various social networks and the potential for anonymously spreading hurtful, hateful messages about others. Now, for the rest of the story.

After the previous post I remembered that I recently had a flurry of Facebook “friend” requests. Several of these were from former co-workers and even a former manager from where I worked prior to retiring. I responded with, “Hi! How are you? It is good to touch base again!” I thought to myself, “Gee, it is nice to be remembered!” Then I thought of the special friends with whom I carry on a frequent exchange of emails. All of these positive experiences came through the same Internet that has offered up some of the less satisfying content.

For me, just reviewing the past friendships with co-workers was richly satisfying. I hadn’t heard from them for six years and suddenly I am a “friend” again. I also had the opportunity to see who some of their other friends are. This is one of those simple acts of kindness that it is so easy to gloss over as just ordinary. I am very fortunate to have people in my life who show caring for one another and include me in that circle of sharing.

Honestly, I probably won’t have an active exchange with some of the folks out of the past, since I do not spend much time in the social networks, but that is not the point for me. What I gained from these contacts is something I too often forget about myself: I am a person some other people are happy to know! For a few brief moments I got away from thinking I am alone out here. Then there is the whole blogasphere of contacts that I have. Some of these I initiated and some came to me. And what about such sites as Wikipedia? Good heavens, there isn’t anything you cannot find out about there from an old quote you cannot source to the meaning of words you never heard of before. If all else fails, there is Google!

So, the rest of the story is about how rich our environment has become thanks to the Internet. I would not want my readers to think my head is in the sand, unaware of that tremendous resource. Happy hunting and may all your contacts be powerful reminders of your value to yourself and others.

Social(ly Responsible) Networks

Several years ago I wrote an article expressing my feelings about social networks, specifically in response to a MySpace posting. It was my first look into MySpace and I had just stumbled upon a particularly hurtful entry that the writer did not know how to make private so it was on the network for all to see. It was a personal family matter, yet here it was for anyone to see, even the people it was about, but whom the writer had not intended them to see.

Time heals all wounds we are told and time allowed this event to fade and for hurts to be forgotten, at least for the time being. Since that first adventure I have cared little to explore the various social networks. Like most everyone with a computer, I am registered on several, but I am dismayed by the continuing tragedies hidden among the contributors, the deeply hurt young people and others unable to cope with the insults, humiliation and hateful intent. Lives are literally lost as a result.

I understand that there is also much positive content that truly provides support, fun, knowledge and many other useful forms of connection. It is, by far, the predominant content. I simply would hope that we could show some level of respect for one another and ownership of our contribution in all mediums of relationship. Personal insult and accusations may best be resolved face to face rather than in the anonymity of the dark spaces of the Internet. If one cannot deal with that, maybe it is best to forget it altogether!

After posting the article written earlier, I decided to withdraw it because it really was a personal experience. The fact that it recently came up for me did not make it necessary to share the details again.