Two friends engaged in a dialogue on a semi-political Facebook post that I recently made. It went from merely partisan to the very edges of taste (we’ll just say things were said that would make some of my friends uncomfortable). I had considered deleting the offending comments, but used my editorial judgement to make a statement that I was leaving everything as-is in an effort to show just how split our society has become.
This weeks “On the media” had a nice short bit featuring Ira Glass on why they disabled comments on their site (“Comments on comments“) that reminded me of this experience. I truly enjoyed how nuanced Ira’s view was. He didn’t feel required to continue to create a forum on their website for viewers to express mean opinions, yet acknowledged that pointed meanness is generally ok in the online world — even when it’s pointed at him or his show. He finds this sort of two-way communication as being part of the nature of two way communication in online/social media. This is a great acknowledgment of both his power to control speech on his own website, but a willingness for things to be said on the wider internet.
The catch is, with social media we all have the same power. I found the anecdote a good reminder to pause and think like an editor when engaging the rush of posting (and deleting) comments in my own strem. Might we all be able to take such pause.