The title is a little hyperbolic. I'll give you that. But it was the first way I thought of to describe the phenomenon. I mean, what really gets into people behind the keyboards when it comes to twitter, facebook, emails, the whole social media thing?
A friend recently posted something like this on facebook: "Hey I'm going motorcycle riding on the 24th. who wants to go?"
Another friend replied: "Don't forget your organ donor card."
Smug, edgy, snarky, trollish and probably not a smart thing to post.
The motorcycle rider's wife was not amused and posted a reply expressing that. Can't really say I blame her.
If your sister announced she was pregnant on social media, would you comment: Don't drop the baby on his head! Maybe some of my friends would. But I would suggest that a simple Congratulations works just fine.
Facebook is a nice neighborhood. It's a nice dinner with a lot of people invited. It's nice talk with relatives, friends and let's be honest here - probably a lot of people you don't know well or who have changed a lot since you last saw them in high school. Commenting on gun rights, voting laws, or hating on Obama or Boehner or Harry Reid or the Koch brothers is not a good idea. Get controversial if you want but it's at your own peril.
You can beat social network terrorism. Your posts to facebook can exclude certain people. Consider it your version of implementing a no-fly list.
