UNITED STATES—We haven’t talked much about social media lately, but today I want to bring a major issue to the forefront that I’m beginning to see almost daily: public spats. Why is this of importance to me? Well, it makes people look silly, immature and plain stupid. For starters, Twitter, as great as it can be in the social arena, seems to be the go to place, next to Instagram and Facebook when everyday people including celebrities want to air out their grievances. To be honest I think it is just a terrible idea.
Of course, many have heard about the rift between “Sex and the City” co-stars Kim Cattrall and Sarah Jessica Parker. Recently, Cattrall lost her brother, and Parker sent a tweet sending out her condolences. That led to Cattrall delivering a scathing response to Parker via social media that has everyone talking. I’m not about to get into the logistics of their spat because that is not the purpose of this column. My point is I think some things are better handled in private.
We live in a world where bullying is commonplace nature in school and in work arena. As a result, what message is being sent to kids when they see people like the President of the United States Donald Trump tweeting about disagreements with members of Congress and the Senate in such a public forum? How about many of their favorite celebrities who are going tic for tac over what many of us would consider stupid things. It doesn’t help the situation, that’s the point. People now have this intuition that if you have a spat with someone its best to put them on blast by allowing all of America to be aware that you don’t like this person and you don’t like them because of X, Y and Z.
I cannot wrap my head around this for the life of me, why people choose not to settle issues they have with others in a private setting. I am seriously being honest, what does one have to gain by putting their personal business in the public sphere? Is it fame? Well, at this point I’m starting to believe that is the case for many celebrities and everyday individuals. The goal is to constantly be talked about, and if you’re being talked about you’re not forgotten and if you’re not forgotten people are always talking about you.
I don’t think many people consider the potential backlash that can come from airing out your public grievances. Why? You allow the introduction of random people to throw their two cents or opinion on the matter at hand. We do live in a country where everyone is extra sensitive at the moment and anything you say or do can be construed to mean something that you did not intend. However, the one thing that amazes me with so many celebrities is why in the world would you want the rest of the world to know your inner darkest feelings or private conversations?
We all know Hollywood to be an industry that can be unforgiving and once you’re blacklisted it’s like the death curse, especially with the #MeToo movement in full force. The same sentiment goes for the everyday Joe. Keep your personal business private because once you expose it to the masses there is no way for you to keep a lid on things. While you can delete something from social media, once someone get hold of a tweet or post it will last forever and I mean forever.
