Living In A Facebook-Twitter World

One of my best and oldest friends posted this on Facebook yesterday:

Dear Abby,

I used to have a boss who, when he need more clarity or when he was being sarcastic, would say, "I'm dumb and stupid.  You're gonna have to explain to me how that works (or how it will solve our problem)."

So I sit here on Facebook pondering the question:  "How do rumors, falsehoods, and misrepresentations spread on the internet, especially on social media like FB?"  I must have been at the tail end of the line when brains were handed out, and I just can't seem to come up with the answer to this burning question.  I'm hoping my FB friends can offer suggestions as to how it happens and how spreading such misinformation can be avoided.

Signed, 
The Scarecrow
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Oh Scarecrow, my dear old friend.  Don't sell yourself short.  You have brains to spare.  I feel your Facebook pain, man, and I sure hope you're not talking about me!  (Because I'm not spotless in this regard myself.)

How does it happen?  It can't not happen.  The internet is obviously one of the greatest things the world has ever known.  It's also an uncensored, free-speech garbage dump.  While you and I generally prefer the cautious check-before-posting policy, clearly others don't care much about accuracy or knowing where a post originated.  There's nothing to stop them.

Social media like Facebook and Twitter fan the flames by the immediacy of their very design.  They encourage a narcissistic counting contest for friends, followers, likes, shares, re-tweets.  Do it now!  They foster impulsive reactions and hair-trigger clicks.  It's super-easy -- too easy -- to instantly and mindlessly like/share/comment on something you agree with, and equally easy to puke up troll-style ugliness if you disagree, with just as little thought.

There are many legitimate political and business uses of Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Such pages and accounts are separate, dedicated and clear in the purpose for which they were created.  If you go there, you go by choice and with a good idea of what you'll be getting.  And if you don't like it, you don't have to return.  Fair enough.

What chaps your ass and mine, dear friend, is all the unsolicited and unexpected political/religious/social commentary on many personal FB pages.  (Again, my hands are not totally clean on this score.)  And what particularly offends are some posts from those who just don't know what the hell they're talking about, but persist in recycling dumb-ass, non-original thoughts/posts ad nauseum.  (Here is where I confess I enjoy a good meme as much as anyone!)

Facebook makes it hard to avoid the crap.  They're not big on choice.  When you go your homepage, the first thing you see is whatever Facebook has decided you should see first.  Then, if you're like most people, you start scrolling down and down and . . . you see it all.  This includes those TMI/OMFG posts from some of your less discreet FB friends.

Can the spread of misinformation be stopped?  No.  It can only be balanced with truth, facts, and honesty.  More than balanced, one would hope.

Can misinformation on FB/etc. be avoided?  Yes, you can avoid seeing the crap to one degree or another.  I know a few people who grew so disgusted by FB that they shut down their accounts, kicked the habit and never looked back.  That'll do it.  Other than that, the best way to avoid seeing things you don't want to see is to unfriend the chronic offenders, even if they're real-life friends or family members.  I've done that a handful of times and have not regretted it.  Perhaps some have unfriended me.

Here's reality -- tolerance is a virtue, but it has its limits, and we're only human.  If you frequently share political/social viewpoints with which I agree, you'll almost certainly remain my FB friend forever.  But if you just can't stop yourself from sharing sophomoric, wing-nut nonsense with the world, one of these days I may need to remember your birthday all by myself, with no friendly Facebook reminders.