Clare Henney: Think Before You Click!

12:00 PM | | Posted by Clare Henney

I love this new campaign by GMA 7 encouraging people to become more responsible online.

When I was new to the net and blogging, I was a victim of online bullying. I had anonymous people who would judge me and my blog. These people make scathing comments that just kept popping up again and again even if I deleted them. I may not have known these people but the things that have been said still hurt and it really affected me.

In this day and age where everyone is online and social media has been what it is today, people have more and more opportunities to become online bullies or make rash judgments on people and events. We need to remember to think before we post anything. We need to be sure of what we are saying before we say it. Considering how easy it is to go online these days, I think we should at least surf for more info online before we judge. We also need to think the implications of our actions – just because we delete something it doesn’t mean it’s deleted forever. We need to be more responsible in terms of our online activities.

Here’s what GMA has to say about the campaign:

THINK BEFORE YOU CLICK When you post something online, there are at least two truths. 1. The web is written in permanent ink, once you post there is no way to take it back. 2. Everything has an effect. It can build up and it can also destroy.

So, as part of GMA News’ campaign to promote the responsible use of social media we ask that before you post anything, think before you click.

It’s good when we use the net to rally each other for a good cause but this is different. Sometimes it’s just too easy to go with crowd and make some comments about people who make mistakes in their lives that they can’t take back. It’s easy to be cruel when we can’t see the people we’re hurting face to face. It’s easy when we don’t know them personally. But if it happens to you or someone you love, I’m telling you it hurts like crazy. I’m not saying that we should not be honest about our opinions or anything like that. What I’m saying is that there is always a way to say things that would not be as cruel. We just need to be more responsible and we need to, as GMA says, think before we click.

Photo Source:  GMA News