I am admittedly torn sometimes when it comes to social media.
When I walk through the streets of Manhattan, and dodge other beings of the
human species who haven’t looked up from their phones in three and half blocks,
I tend to ponder this modern phenomenon more closely. I have vowed not to
become one of those people, that we all know, who is against anything
new-fangled; I want to stay in touch with the reality of life as it is in the
present and be one of those 100 yr. olds who can still understand,
appreciate, and communicate with a much younger generation.
With that being said, sometimes I want to take my computer,
my phone, and any other form of electronic communication and chuck them in the
Hudson River! (Although, I couldn’t do
that because I can’t stand polluting our waterways.) Of course, I’d go crazy in
a matter of hours, because I love getting texts from the wifey telling me how
her day is going or just reminding me that I am loved. I enjoy the pictures from the farm that my little sister randomly sends me. I also love getting instant
updates on friends from New Zealand, South Korea, Scotland, and everywhere in
between; it reminds that we are all interconnected.
For the most part, I keep what could be considered pure rubbish
out of my newsfeeds. (Although there’s the argument that much of media is rubbish-focused.) I don’t care to know what the Kardashians had
for breakfast, but I do want to know who we decided to bomb while I was
sleeping. Whatever hairstyle Beyoncé chooses is fine by me, I need not be
notified, but I do wish to stay informed of the Supreme Court’s rulings and how
they affect our freedoms. It does not really matter to me which actor-actress-name-combo
decided to call it quits, but matters of equality, in any form, are of great concern
to me.
I also enjoy the exposure to ideas and concepts I wouldn’t
have come across otherwise. Even ideas that, at first, seem foreign to me,
cause me to stop and process what I think about such, and this, in turn,
inspires growth within. Recently, and you may have seen it too, I’ve seen
Harnaam Kaur’s story popping up around different news sites. You can read her full story here, which is beautiful, but the short version is that she has
decided to live her life as she is—which happens to be a young girl with a
beard that would make some men envious. After being suicidal through her youth
because of constant bullying, she decided to embrace herself and use her voice
to inspire others.
Social media comes into play in two ways here. First, and
positively so, she is getting her story out. People who need someone to tell
them that they are beautiful are hearing her story and are encouraged. I have
no doubt that her story will save the lives of many who struggle with fitting
in, if it has not already done so. She’s not telling people, I have a beard, therefore every woman should
have a beard, but she is challenging us all to accept and love who we are,
as well as questioning the idea behind social norms and constructs. I applaud her.
The second way that social media comes into to play, and I
see it far too often, is that it gives haters, for lack of a better word, a
platform to spew hate. I also think it gives them a certain degree of false confidence because they can spew this hate in a safe zone from behind a
keyboard. I was not surprised to see the continuum of others’ acceptance of a
woman with a beard, but I would say that it caught me off-guard to read of
the death threats that Harnaam Kaur has received. Death threats? Really? What
is death-threat-worthy of a young girl with a beard?? You read a story about
how a young girl has overcome suicidal thoughts and chosen to love herself as
she is, and your first choice of action is to send her a death threat? It
leaves me asking the question: what sort of person does this? But then again, I
ask that question quite a lot these days….
With or without social media, we all have so much to learn
about peace, compassion, acceptance, equality, and simply…..life. I was
encouraged by the strength and wisdom of Harnaam Kaur; it opened my eyes to another soul's story and journey. Remember we’re all in this thing together. So for
now, I’ll keep the Hudson as is, and post these thoughts through social media
in hopes of making a small difference in this world.
Love yourself. Peace.
