Is Technology Making Us Soft?
Until the early portion of the 20th century, a common method of conflict resolution was challenging an adversary to a duel, a simple one on one battle where it was understood that the last man (or woman) standing is declared the winner. These were simpler times, where one party would need only to throw down his glove in the presence of the opposition and it was on like Donkey Kong. To the victor went the spoils and life went on. For my money it doesn’t get any better than the Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr duel of 1804, I lost a ton of cash on Hamilton but at least I knew both participants were settling their differences like real men. Nowadays, things are a little bit different and a whole lot less confrontational. Thanks to the wonders of technology, it is rare to see any arguments escalate beyond cyberspace as a once tough Generation X has been transformed into the softer, more irritating Generation Text.
Now let me set something straight, I am not a fan of violence however I would rather see two meatheads just take out their testosterone and AXE body spray induced aggression on each other rather than drawing out an endless war of words via Facebook or Twitter. I think I speak for everyone when I say that tweeting “I’m going 2 kick ur @$$” is not really scaring the pants off anybody. This trend of online beef is even more widely used among girls who drop the gloves when they get behind the keyboard and really spew some virtual venom. Just look at the case one particularly angry (and apparently promiscuous) broad who was fed up with another girl and decided to voice her displeasure with some visual aid. She clearly had enough and posted a Facebook picture worth well over 1,000 words – it cost an entire relationship as it exposed that she had slept with her enemy’s boyfriend:
Let’s set their role in personal conflicts aside for a minute as there are plenty of other bones to pick with today’s social networking powerhouses. As great as they are with keeping people in touch and connected for both business and personal pursuits, Facebook and Twitter have oversaturated us with the inane details of our peers’ lives. I mean really, find me somebody who actually cares about some of these ridiculous “best of” lists and quizzes like “My 5 Favorite R.L. Stine Goosebumps Stories” and “What type of deli meat best describes your personality?” That being said, most of us can handle these minor annoyances, but when you log onto Facebook or Twitter just to check in on some pictures or follow your favorite celebrity, there is no reason why you should be exposed to some bickering between people who a) probably aren’t even close friends of yours and b) lack the chutzpah to ever really throw down in a face to face setting.
I’m a realist so I know that Facebook and Twitter aren’t going anywhere, believe me I wouldn’t want them to as it would paralyze my sex life since I would have no way to remember any girl’s name or see what they really look like without being nine JD’s deep. The only real change that I’d like to see is the removal of silly bitching and moaning on my homepage. A little smack talking here and there is good fun, but when things get personal, the Internet is no place to air your dirty laundry. I’m all for using Twitter for a publicity stunt, such as Bengals diva wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman jawing at each other in anticipation for their upcoming December match up, but a line has to be drawn somewhere before things get ugly.
By following several general rules and guidelines, we can all avoid being dragged into online warfare. If you minimize heated discussion about divisive topics like religion and politics and realize when you are publicizing information that is way too personal or just plain unnecessary, then social networking beef will be significantly trimmed. In times when a fight is unavoidable, just try and settle it like adults – face-to-face in a steel cage.
In all seriousness, nobody should have to endure an ongoing contest of who has the more badass status update because nobody wins in this situation. Plus, if you are going to get into legal trouble wouldn’t you rather impose some physical pain on your enemy rather than just defame their character and get slapped with some bogus slander lawsuit? Of course the best possible resolution is to just chill out, make peace, and for everyone’s sake, think before you tweet.
*Special thanks to Tara Feuerstein for providing the idea behind this post
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