In the past I have Blogged a couple of posts regarding a Facebook page called 1000 Voices for Compassion and on the 20th of each month there is a challenge and people write Blog topic based on the topic for that month. In the month of the May the topics “Connection” including reconnection and reconciliation.
So I will literally just write down whatever came to mind when I thought of the word “Connection”.
http://1000voicesspeak.org/2015/04/28/connection-prompts-for-our-may-link-up/
I think that is a really interesting topic because I find that as a general society rule we are less connected than ever before. Yet we have all these tools to help us communicate well and efficiently and yet as I have said before we have more of a society that wants to be “right” instead of discussing and talking with one another. You watch people (especially with Twitter) who bully and send death threats to people that they don’t even know. When did this become okay? Why has this become such a problem? How can someone be so disconnected that threatening and telling people that should “go and kill” themselves, became acceptable?
I have watched many “fights” on Facebook. You have many people who will literally write “who cares”. How poignant is that?! Clearly not them (that is a whole other topic though on people who want to write “who cares” and “this isn’t news” instead of scrolling past the topic). I have asked people on Facebook directly why they felt the need to write that statement, why didn’t they just scroll past and get on with their day. Why do they think what they like is so much more and better than other? Yet, when people ask them, they get really upset?
Have we lost the connection with what is really important, how can we get it back, whose to blame, is there one area to blame or is it just everything these days? Have we lost the connection with the earth, the planet, our basic simple ways. Have we become to diverse to be able to really handle and accept the differences in others? Are we not ready to CONNECT with the other different souls on this planet? Is it too much for us to handle right now.
I believe that it is time to reconnect with and within ourselves. Go back to the basics and take a long look at what we are doing and what kind of legacy and story do we want to leave behind. I believe that we need to reconnecting with ourselves every know and then, to take a hard look at ourselves and asked ourselves “What is important to us”. Do these people really want to leave the story behind of them threatening and telling people to die behind the cowardice of a screen?
Take that walk back in a nature, kick up the leaves during autumn. Mediate…Listen to what our souls are telling us to do, telling us the path that we should take. Shut out the world of the technology. and connect with our spirits again. I think that we need to reconnect within ourselves again.
Lolsys Library 
My personal theory on why there’s so much rude behavior on the Internet is because it is a disconnected medium. In other words, if I can insult you and threaten you physically without any repercussion, then I’m far more likely to do that than if you were standing in front of me and could actually hit me for that insult or threat. Without a consequence to my action against you, I’m probably going to commit to that action, especially if I’m angry for some reason.
That’s why I feel like it’s more difficult to be nice to someone over the Internet. And it’s also why we have to be more aware of the things we type and how those words might affect someone that we really don’t know. Unfortunately, there’s not a school that trains kids on how to be respectful to people on the Internet (there are adults who could use a school like that too).
The connection to others that we get through the Internet is an illusion because communication with people around the world makes it seem like there’s no distance between us when there is actually a whole heck of a lot. So when we communicate with others across those distances, we need to make sure that the lack of consequences don’t disconnect us from good manners.
By the way, when I started reading this post about respect on the Internet, I started thinking about this Penny Arcade comic from 2004:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/
It satirizes people being rude to each other during online play of video games, but the same principle applies to social media sites.
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Oh I’ve seen that page before, it’s really good,lol.
I absolutely agree with everything that you’ve written. I think that they need to have a curriculum in schools about social media awareness….Start them early!lol
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I certainly agree there is a group who like to abuse anonymously (sadly they have always been there, in print when print first stated, then the heavy breather on the telephone and now the internet). And we d need to find ways to either teach them a better way or sanction them But, can I maybe make a plea for a little positivity too (which I’m sure you didn’t mean to underplay!). An old friend of my wife, with whom connection was long lost after moves, job changes and what have you, found us via the net and we will be meeting up again in a couple of weeks after a 20 year gap. Without the net it would not happen. I holidayed in NZ this year with my son and posted daily; Several relatives, esp my cousins remarked how lovely to hear all about it as they would never have heard so much had it been communicated in the usual way, over a family meal with lots of others with stories to tell. The connections deepened as a result. So yes we need to improve manners and in some way to impose a consequence but at the same time to celebrate what it has brought to our lives. Overall I would suggest the impact has been a major force for good in the world and we should not lose sight of that when considering the negatives
I hope you don’t mind this comment. I did agree with everything you said, really!
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I don’t mind at all =)
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