I was sharing recently with someone how once upon a time, when I was a teenager, and around the same time as dinosaurs roamed the earth, we didn’t have the internet. It was before the www and Google, before Facebook and Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, email, messenger and any of the others I have forgotten or don’t even know about yet, – things change so fast these days. During this time, to find out information or to research something we used to go to this wondrous building full of books, newspapers and magazines called the library. This was where answers and information were stored. It was also an acceptable period of time to say “I actually don’t know” when a question was asked as we actually didn’t.
As technology advanced and resources became more widely available and of course Google was born, we found ourselves having access to incredible amounts of data, (not necessarily intelligence) and all available to us 24/7 and 365 days a year. Today, it has enabled people to become self-proclaimed experts on a range of topics, with the simple click of a button. We can see instantly what other self-proclaimed experts are saying too and adopt their shared information as fact.
It doesn’t seem to matter that some of the details are not even remotely accurate, nor does it stop the sharing of this information and all in a great game of Chinese whispers. It allows a person to answer a question or to share their opinion with the greatest of confidence and perceived authority on virtually any topic and often any person you choose to name. The internet has given us so many wonderful things and is such a fantastic resource, but do we sometimes forget it should be used with a grain of compassion or deliberate thinking of others even if we have never met them? It’s easy to ‘share’ our views and ‘comment’ on topics we have no personal experience with and on people, we have never met, without a second thought. With all this commenting, sharing and posting going on, I wonder what would happen if we paused for a second and asked a few questions before clicking that button to send it worldwide? Will sharing or commenting on this add value to people’s lives? Could it uplift someone? Or make them smile? Could it benefit them? Is it going to spread positivity or am I sharing a negative attitude? Will someone reading this feel good afterwards? Joyful? Empowered? Or inspired? And would I make the same comment to the persons face? How would it make them feel? We can be quick to act without a second thought as to how our sharing and comments could affect others. Should we take a moment to consider how we would feel if it was them commenting on us? There are numerous examples I could give but I will use two personal ones to keep it real. I read a post this week asking if LOL4Ben was a scam, a story, and was it real? Ha! Don’t I wish this whole situation WAS just a story!
Or take the comment some time ago about the ‘negligent mother who let her 15 year old go to the gym unsupervised’? We all have the ability to uplift with every interaction we have either online or in person. Sometimes, I believe our personal opinions should be kept as that – personal opinions! And sometimes what we think of someone else is none of their business! We CAN make a difference and add value with every conscious decision we make and if you think small things don’t count, consider the mosquito in the room when you are trying to sleep or a single hair in your meal at a restaurant. Benny constantly reminds me that it is what I do here and now that counts and how I make people feel and the value I bring that matters and what will be remembered afterwards. Have a beautiful day everyone!
Much Love Dalya xx💙