Category Archives: Using social media

Mental Health, Personal Growth, Using social media

Today I am…

May 30, 2022 Walter Leave a comment

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
George S. Patton

I am a big fan of George Patton–a man not without his faults, but one who understood leadership. So it is perhaps fitting that he “rescued” me this Memorial Day Morning.

One of my Memorial Day rituals for some years now has been to write some thoughts and feelings on a day that has been important to me since I was a very young child helping my Dad prepare for and experience the day. This year I felt, frankly, a bit empty because so many of the meaningful traditions and rituals are absent.

But when I checked my email, there among the Nigerian fortunes available and Memorial Day Sales was a post that led with this reminder from the General.

I found myself chuckling a bit while speculating how long it would take in today’s world for the General to be banned from social media platforms. It’s an interesting dichotomy. Social media depends on engagement and that engagement is often driven by controversy. So in one respect, he’d have been welcomed with open arms.

I can almost picture the comments. You know more than a few people would take issue with the first statement. After all, isn’t the point of Memorial Day to remember (mourn) those who died? And what about the women who lived and died? Don’t they count? How can he be so callous to not care about those who died?

Those twenty words would have generated at least 200 comments. Depending on the group, the moderators would have shut off the comments when it got angry and mean.

I’m working on a piece about anger and the role it plays in decision-making. Stay tuned.

The General knew the value of being dogmatic often lies in the fact that it creates perspective. I’m reminded of the song, “I’ve looked at life from both sides now.”

So today I honor, mourn, and grieve for those who died. I don’t think that’s foolish or wrong. But I do think Patton was right to expect us to see the other side and be happy that those men (and women) lived.

Classes and Courses, Teaching, Using social media

Every Once in a While…

November 9, 2020 Walter Leave a comment

Have you got a minute for a story? Every once in a while, something happens that just has to be shared.

Unless you’re living under a rock, you know that Maine is now under an Executive Order that requires facemasks to be worn unless you are on your own property.

If you’ve recently attended a “live” class or workshop I’ve taught, you also know that I suffer from COPD and allergies. That’s not a complaint, it’s just a statement of fact to explain why I occasionally have trouble breathing and may cough–even if I’m not wearing a facemask. I don’t have COVID-19 but wearing a facemask causes me discomfort, reduces my oxygen absorption and makes teaching difficult.

During the second class I taught after the Executive Order was announced, one of my adult students (we’ll call her “D”) disappeared for a few moments. She returned from a quick trip to her vehicle with the explanation she had something for me but would need to assemble it. The smile she wore was both intriguing and telling.

Ultimately, D presented me with the face-covering pictured here together with an explanation that her employer was using them and they were also being widely used in restaurants and food prep areas.

It wasn’t long before I was smiling with her. “I can breathe!” I announced to the class. Several replied “And we can see your smile now!”

I no longer had to deal with my glasses fogging.

If there was a questionable side-affect it was that the shield reflected my voice and my hearing aids seemed to increase the volume of my voice. They and I both adjusted rather quickly.

I wanted to share the story because the student’s kindness deserves recognition.

I also need to confess that I must have been living under a rock because I wasn’t aware such a thing exists! That’s why I’m even willing to demonstrate that I have no future as a male model to share it with my colleagues or anyone who teaches. There’s a bracket that sits on my chin, keeping the shield properly spaced… the shield itself extends above my nose. I actually find myself forgetting I have it on! D pointed out that I could slip a straw up through the bracket and drink without removing it!

Of course you’ll need to clean it at the end of the day. That’s actually an advantage because it’s a whole lot easier than washing a cloth mask or “overusing” a disposable mask.

Since my blog posts end up on social media, I will note that this is not an invitation to an argument. If you don’t like the idea of the device, don’t use it. If you are tempted to attack me for using it, bear in mind, that I would likely qualify for a medical exemption from wearing a mask at all. So wearing this device is “going above” the CDC’s “recommendation.”

Every once in a while we might want to think about the word “tolerance.” It’s a pretty important concept if we intend to live, work, and learn together.

Every once in a while we might want to emulate D by demonstrating kindness and helping to solve someone else’s problem.

Causes and Friends, Classes and Courses, Mental Health, Mental Hygiene, Personal Growth, Small People, Using social media

Fact or fake?

August 20, 2020 Walter Leave a comment

Netsmartzkids has some great resources for teachers and parents who want to keep their kids safe online. Among those resources are some “Into the Cloud” animated videos–each about five minutes long covering some aspect of being safe online.

I’m sharing one in the hope that it will pique your interest and you’ll explore the site. There are free ebooks, activity sheets, games… lots of things to use with kids. But I do have another purpose behind the sharing.

I hope it will get you thinking. I’ve recently noticed that many people are using social media for “research.” Some of this is relatively harmless. “What is the phone number for this local business?” This question makes it necessary for the researcher to wait for a comment that includes the answer. I’m always tempted to point out that a Google search would likely reveal the answer in seconds.

No wonder the phone company started charging for directory assistance. People were calling 411 instead of using the directory. What does that say about us?

But what might be of greater concern is the people who are posting symptoms and asking for medical advice. And, as if that’s not troubling enough, there are often plenty of folks willing to demonstrate their “expertise.” I’m always tempted to post “Call your doctor.” Or, in some cases, “Go to the E.R.”

Telemedicine is a valid concept but it’s not a product I’d contract for on Facebook or Snapchat.

And then there’s financial advice. One of the social media groups I’m part of gets multiple questions every day from people wanting to know things like “What’s the best form of business for me to adopt” and “How much should I charge for…?”

Yes, there is some value in soliciting opinions–but in addition to being able to separate fact and fake, we also could get a lot better at separating fact and opinion. I don’t teach it often but I do have a “thinking skills” program. In addition to differentiating between divergent and convergent thinking, it includes the skill of “happying” and the skill of “crap detecting.”

In that course, I used to ask students to bring in a newspaper. We’d then look at every headline closely and answer this question: “Is the headline a fact or an opinion?” One of the learning outcomes is that we tend to accept opinions as facts if those opinions support what we already believe.

So here’s something else for you to think about. When you start scrolling on Facebook, what are you looking for? Cute kitten or puppy photos are probably safe (although some are digitally altered and do not depict reality–fact or fake?). Or are you hoping to find a lot of people (it is called social media) who agree with your opinions and beliefs?

Kids aren’t the only ones who occasionally get suckered by what’s on the Internet.