The negativity of social media.

I have watched the comments section on many posts on Facebook over the past few weeks. I have been shocked. Very shocked. Everyone seems to be an expert when it comes to news items on social media. Everyone claims to know what happened and know intentions of strangers by reading one news article. This annoys me a great deal. I know it shouldn't, I should not care about what a bunch of strangers say about other strangers. I should not care that I have witnessed grown adults use petty name calling if someone disagrees with them. I should not care that people have threatened the lives of someone's family or dealt out rape threats or acts of violence. But I do care. I  care a great deal.

At a time where cyber bullying is rife, where young teenagers are taking their own life due to bullying, isn't it time for adults to stand up and say that enough is enough? How can we expect children and teenagers to stop the bullying and be kind to each other when they see adults bullying and belittling people on social media constantly? How can adults teach children respect for others and kindness and understanding when adults will not do the same?
Since when is it acceptable for people to gang up and bully the most vulnerable? When did it become okay to disrespect someone else's opinion?

I was reading a post about prostitution last night. It was an article about how prostitutes are commonly abused and there are limited places to turn. I made the mistake of reading the comments section. There were some very kind comments, comments I was grateful to read, comments that proved to me that human decency and compassion still exist, Then there were negative comments. The negative comments annoyed me greatly. What gives people the right to judge someone based on the job they have? Why should the sex industry be exempt from protection from abuse, both physical and mental?
It is time to step up and not accept this behaviour. It is time people learnt that they can have a difference of opinion without resorting to bullying.
I have made a promise to myself. I will no longer read comments on news items. Life is hard enough without adding extra negativity to it.

Social media can be a wonderful thing. We can keep in contact with friends and family that live interstate and overseas, we can recommend movies and restaurants and festivals. We can easily invite a large number of people to an event. We can share exciting news quickly with friends and family. I think it is time to go back to that, not using it as a platform for bullying and threats.