By March Twisdale
Yes. Yes, we do.
Remember that game you played in early elementary school? It’s been called various things. My generation called it “Telephone.” Put 20 kids in a circle, have them whisper a short phrase in their neighbor’s ear, and by the 20th person, the message inevitably changes.
The moral of the story? Don’t spread rumors. Don’t gossip. The game shows us that, even when we have only the best of intentions, humans still have an innate tendency to hear things wrong and pass the information forward incorrectly. Short answer: the message gets garbled easily.
Does this mean we shouldn’t share anything? Of course not. But, from an early age, our culture in the West has admonished us to be as honest as possible, to be good to our word, and to take care when we communicate about others. We are taught “active listening skills,” such as saying back what we heard, asking clarifying questions, and not taking things at face value. Short answer: check your ego at the door and avoid stirring the pot.
Another community skill taught to American children? What goes in your ear need not come out of your mouth. When we listen to a fellow community member, or read something online, we are taking information in. Whether, how, when, and to whom we share that information falls entirely in our lap of responsibility.
Are we a rabblerouser? A gossipmonger? Snitch? Talebearer? Quidnunc? Stool Pigeon? Rat fink? Nark? The list of such terms goes on and on, spanning the width and breadth of human society, now and since time immemorial. Why? Because human societies the world over know that bad information shared indiscriminately or with malicious intent is corrosive to all individuals involved, eating away at the delicate fabric of society.
It is my carefully considered opinion that we must not engage in casual sharing of unvetted information, for the sake of our own reputation, the reputation of others, and our collective dignity. A society that devolves into extremely childish and undisciplined sharing of clickbait is a society populated by adults who are failing to learn and/or honor all four of the Toltec Wisdom Agreements written about by don Miguel Ruiz in his book “The Four Agreements.”
“Be impeccable with your word”
“Do not take anything personally”
“Do not make assumptions”
“Always do your best”
Of course, you’re also failing to live by western, Biblical principles, or eastern philosophies, such as Confucianism, which emphasizes personal and governmental morality, social relationships, righteousness, kindness, and sincerity. All for the purpose of a harmonious society through ethical behavior.
So, yes! We have an obligation to think twice before hitting SEND.
What if all Islanders took this pledge? Before I share, I will ask myself, “Is this information accurate, true, and helpful to the listener or society?” One step further, what if we pledged to hold ourselves accountable? Asking ourselves, “Am I sure? Have I taken time to research the video clip’s origin? Have I researched the topic personally? And if there were a consequence for sharing information that was provably inaccurate and false, would we still hit SEND so casually?”
These questions, and the pause they encourage, matter. Especially when the people who receive our content may trust us so much that they will blindly pass along what we say, and this could repeat one thousand times, resulting in a world overrun with lies.
We live in a world filled with fallen human beings. All of us are flawed, and all of us will get many things wrong in our lifetimes. Hitting send without care or forethought doesn’t need to be one of them.
We’ve all heard about “bad people” being employed by “bad actors” for the express purpose of creating social media content designed to propagate false narratives for the sake of political manipulation. This is true. It happens. With increasing frequency. But, the success of “manipulative narratives” depends almost entirely upon our collective decisions to vet the information carefully or send it forward without a second thought.
Many of us have become casual sharers of content. When the content is puppies being rescued, mountain goats eating salt off the sheer cliffs of a dam, or videos of a volcano exploding – it’s not a problem.
When the content is damaging to targeted individuals, society overall, and the emotional well-being of the individuals who receive it? That’s a different story. That’s when, “YES! We have an obligation to think twice before we hit send.”
