I realize the absurdness of criticizing the internet while I am in fact writing a blog post on the internet but when has being slightly absurd ever stopped me? What follows is going to be a whole lot of complaints, whining and pet peeves so if that bugs you I guess read no further!

At what point in our history did people start going online to report their every little activity and movement,every thought, opinion and criticism of other people and oh so many personal details of their lives? For me things like twitter promote rampant narcissism and that bugs me. The idea that its ok to go online and trash other people and the concept that everyone cares about your every thought. Yes the same can be said about blogs thus I realize the slight absurdness of my complaint but that’s ok, gonna roll with it. Celebrities do it, creating Instagrams, Twitters, Tumblers, Facebooks and whatever other things are popular now. I sort of get that. They want their fans to know what projects they have and to get people to tune in, listen or go watch their movies. They do make a living off of that. Some celebrities are not above tearing their fans to shreds. For instance Rihanna. I don’t use Twitter. I prefer to say I don’t Twit and I don’t. But I have seen numerous articles quoting the times she has harshly torn into 1 of her fans. Yes her fans. The people who made her rich. And why? My guess is she just likes to be bitchy. I used to really like her songs until I heard that. I read 1 article about how she completely shredded 1 young fan who copied 1 of her outfits. I thought wow how mean to do that and unnecessary. All of this is sort of my point though. People, celebrities and your average nobody,  feel as if that’s okay to do. To go online and rip apart people, say anything they feel like under the safety or anonymity of being online. Things the majority of us would never ever say to a persons face but they will say it online as if it is acceptable. I try not to do that because I remember there is a person on the other end of that electronic device and I grew up with the Golden Rule. But for those who think its okay, it really isn’t.

That bring me to my next issue, over sharing. Telling people your every thought, feeling, and personal issue and the pictures (oh my) as if  tons of selfies validates you and your self-worth in life. Which I realize for some, it does. How sad is that? Sometimes it is people who claim to be a Christian but then talk behind your back. If I am really your friend I won’t say something awful behind your back. The amount of followers you have does not define you nor validate you.

The internet is not a safe place. For people who feel the need to share personal info on sites like Facebook I urge caution. Facebook will try to get you to. They ask me to update my profile all the time. To share more and more stuff. It takes such a small amount of information for some crazy person to seek you out in real life and it has happened. You don’t always know who you are talking to on social media.

The know it alls. Everything you say they will criticize and analyze. If you ask a question be prepared for not just 1 person with the right answer to follow but many for just 1 was not enough I suppose. This is a huge problem for public forums on the majority of articles out there that allow comments as well as public pages. If you have anything to share that they disagree with or is not 100% butt kissing be prepared for an onslaught bigger than a Titanic sized wave because it will follow. Some people are so opinionated and long winded too. They will leave comments on pages that are more like a book and if you ever private message this sort of person you will be there all day reading their dissertations. Being long-winded doesn’t make you right. It just makes you a blow hard. Also overly analyzing every little thing is sort of annoying. Every time a show airs that I like I see it, in my groups or on articles I read. Sometimes a show or movie is just entertainment. Every little miniscule thing does not mean you uncovered a hidden clue.  Yes some producers and writers like to do that. But not all, and analyzing everything to death sort of makes you a bore. At the same time some of us refuse to do that, and it doesn’t make us less intelligent either. I know big words but I also value my time too much. Some of us know that as adults our minds are made up so discussing endlessly is rather pointless. I also see people who leave such long comments and think their personality is cute or hard-edged when it’s really just bitchy and irritating. I try to remind people in my Facebook groups that not everyone is there for a long discussion. What if you just want to say your piece in as few words as possible and move on? I rarely feel the need to spell out my every thought, I instead think most are smart enough to read between the lines. Of course maybe that is my mistake, but that’s ok.

The internet is so full of immature people. You never know who you are talking to, if it is really a kid. But sometimes it is an adult who acts like a child. Throwing a fit at everything and blowing up just because they can.

The point of all of this is not just because I like to bitch (although I do), it is to remind that while the internet is full of wonder, and information, and I am not sure I could be without it, it is also full of, well people. So watch what you say and where you say it. Remember the person on the other side is just that, a person. It’s not necessary to say our every thought out loud and that includes our typed words.