Recently, social media has been a very toxic thing for me. Every time I go to check Facebook or Twitter my feed seems to be full of hatred and negativity.
In America, we are experiencing a lot of unimaginable things. It’s hard to feel hopeful sometimes, but it’s nice to see something not so negative online for once. I’ve been feeling pretty bad all week. Classes have been stressing me out and I don’t necessarily want my free time to be on social media when it’s so full of sadness and anger instead of things I need right now like unity, togetherness, love.
I feel like this isn’t something that is that big of a deal. “So what, Hannah? Just take a break.”
Here’s the thing: So on Facebook the other day, one of my Facebook friends from high school posted something about how if you can just “ignore” what’s going on in the world or “block it out” by only posting “happy things,” you’re a part of the “problem.”
It upset me because she’s basically saying I don’t care. Believe me, I do. I just choose to keep my political opinions off social media. To me, posting my stance to my Facebook friends doesn’t provoke thought and understanding. It instead provokes anger and arguments. That is not helping anyone, instead, it’s feeding into Trump’s ideal of dividing our country.
Is it really THAT bad of me to not be politically active on social media? I just didn’t understand why she was so concerned about what everyone else is posting. What I choose to post or not to post doesn’t say who I am as a person. It doesn’t mean I’m ignoring problems. It doesn’t mean I’m not standing up for what I believe in.
If you want to have a respectable, in real life conversation with me, sure, I’d be happy to talk about my views, but just posting on social media when no one asks for it makes me feel uncomfortable. Things get twisted so easily. People read what they want to read.
If you post your opinions on Facebook/Twitter etc. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. What I’m trying to say is that it shouldn’t be your concern about how other people choose to express themselves.
Social media isn’t the only way to express yourself. Tweeting 140 characters won’t do a whole lot for the problems at hand.
There’s other ways to get involved and make active change instead of sitting on your computer and complaining.
Anyway, I have decided to take a break from social media for a bit. I don’t have a set date or anything, just until I feel ready to go back. I don’t need to feel down all the time.
As someone who checks social media in their spare time, this is going to be really hard for me. I’ll be really tempted to see what’s happening on Twitter. I do think a break is best for myself at this time. Even though it’s hard, I think it will be well worth it.
Blogging has been positive, so don’t worry, I’ll still be around you guys š
-Hannah
hannahsbliss 
Thank you for expressing your thoughts about this! I have a lot of facebook friends who post political things and it is sometimes frustrating to me to see the “debates” they get into on the comments section. I feel the same – I am open to discussing my views with people but don’t feel comfortable sharing them on facebook.
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I saw a similar post on Twitter yesterday that made me feel similar! I’m Canadian, but reading everything happening in the news still stresses me out a lot. However, I do understand that my privilege (as in, for example, I am not targeted by Trump’s Muslim Ban, and I have never been the target of xenophobia or Islamophobia) makes it easier for me to tune out the news. I think that first of all, it’s important to consider that aspect of it; why it could be easier for some people to “ignore” (even though it’s not really ignoring) what is happening. It’s equally important, though, for us to consider the impact the news has on our wellbeing and mental health. Of course, if social media is really taking a toll on you, you shouldn’t stick around; you have every right to step away from it, and re-engage with politics when you are ready!
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You bring up a good point! I have a few friends who identify as Muslim and one who is actually directly impacted considering his family was planning on visiting next month to get their visa. Obviously, that will no longer be happening. His view was very interesting to me, he blamed his own government (Iran) for not being cooperative. He said stuff like this always happens. It’s so crazy to me that he didn’t blame America’s government (because that’s who I’m blaming!!!). I can’t even imagine being in that situation where you can’t go home or see your family š¢ I can’t imagine how he feels knowing that this isn’t anything new to him. Sometimes I wish I could go somewhere where I am a minority and just see how I’m treated, because I feel like experiences like that bring more understanding. I could sit here all day and say that I feel bad and that I understand, but the truth is I absolutely don’t. You’re right though, it might be easier for me to step away since I am not being directly impacted by the executive order. It’s important to recognize that! I can almost guarantee I won’t be gone for long because I’ll eventually get too curious about what everyone is up to š So far, day 2 has been refreshing!
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Yes, that’s exactly how I feel!
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Oh wow, that is interesting–I also wouldn’t have first thought to blame anyone other than America. You’re completely right; it’s difficult to not know exactly what other people are going through. But I think it’s not up to us to know exactly how people affected by Trump’s policies are feeling; it’s up to us to stand with them, be allies, and be empathetic even if we can’t completely understand what they are going through. And maybe that means stepping away for a few days so we can come back better than ever and ready to help! š
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Great point, feeling bad about my privilege doesn’t help anyone. (I’m just very empathetic so it’s hard for me NOT to feel that way sometimes…) Instead, what’s important is fighting to make what we can call privilege now (sufficient water, food, shelter, education, safety, equal treatment, etc.) human rights instead! š
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That’s such a great way to put it!! š
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