Social Media as a Clothesline

social media
n. websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts.


clothesline
n. a strong, narrow rope, cord, wire, etc., usually stretched between two poles, posts, or buildings, on which clean laundry is hung to dry.


emphasis
n. special stress laid upon, or importance attached to, anything.

In the definition of the word, clothesline, above, using bold, highlighted, italics, I have placed emphasis on the word clean.

Many of us use our social media outlets - to include blogs like this one! - to express our feelings (both good and bad) about certain topics. We do this in a multitude of ways.

Perhaps it is a rant posted in haste as a tweet on Twitter or a status on Facebook.

Perhaps it is our opinion of Adam Levine's blond hair; or our glee when he went back to dark hair.

Perhaps it is our thoughts on the results we got on one of those silly quizzes.

Perhaps we share links to posts, articles and blogs that we find relatable.(I recently did this, and I can't figure out how to link to just that post on Facebook, but I think I'm going to blog that one because it still seems important to me, even now, so watch for that post.)

Perhaps we share memes that are meaningful to us or relative to our relationships or emotions.

And then, sometimes, we just get downright nasty. And that, my friends, is where I have a problem.

If you have a problem with someone, talk to that person. Or, if you don't think you can just yet (I know, sometimes you have to get to a "place" where you can talk to them out of love instead of hurt or anger...and sometimes that takes YEARS, and sometimes when that place comes, the thing you were so bent out of shape about doesn't even matter anymore), vent your frustrations to your spouse, mom, dad or best friend. But using social media to air your dirty laundry is a bad idea, all the way around. Some things just are meant for public viewing; everything has its place - like yoga pants.

You might use social media as a clothesline, but remember that clotheslines are intended for clean laundry.