Social media, messaging and emails have become essential pieces of many people’s lives. These platforms, however, are more menacing and dangerous than some people know. One text message can be taken out of context and twisted, a post can be turned into a threat, a private email can be forwarded. Sometimes, though, a person may not make the right decision by sending an email, text, etc. in the first place, and in the end the issue that follows can actually be traced back to them and not the instigator. This is something extremely relevant to us as middle schoolers, because a large portion of our social lives is controlled through a form of social media (for most of us, at least). I recently heard a great solution to this issue of compulsive posting.
A teacher spoke to me today about how she manages things. She said that she writes what she wants to say in a Word document, gives it some time, and then goes back to see if her wording is still reasonable. This is because she wants to give herself a cool-down period before she responds.
When aggravated, the brain tends to kick into a sort of adrenaline-fueled rage. People tend to make very rash decisions in this moment, as I personally have before. Sometimes, it works out in the end, but sometimes it doesn’t, and friendships or relationships can easily be ruined. So, in order to help others as well as myself, I will now make an ordered list. Because. Lists are cool.
GET YOUR ANGER OUT
Word vomit. Completely empty out all of your emotions. HOWEVER, only do this in a Word document or in notes. Never in the platform you were planning on, so you can prevent yourself from compulsive sending/posting.
SLEEP ON IT
Maybe not literally, but at least give yourself a cool-down period. Take a bath, meditate, go eat lunch, do something calming for an hour or so. That or actually sleep. Your choice.
REVISE
Now that you’ve sipped on some lemonade or played with a puppy, you are ready to look back at that mess of a statement. Now, you might look back at it and still fully believe in what you want to say, or you might realize how irrational you sound and want to change what you said.
Then you can send it, post it, or, if necessary, just delete it. Now, obviously you don’t have to do this for EVERY. SINGLE. MESSAGE. That would be insane, and your notes would probably end up looking like this:
That’d be ridiculous. But when you’ve been stewing about something for a while, when you hear something that a friend did that you don’t like, when you want to confront someone about a comment that they made, think about it a little first, because what you say could affect them even more than their action affected you.