By Jackson Swearer
A Certain Point of View
The Internet, particularly social media, can be a cesspool.
The comment section on The Hutchinson Tribune pages is usually fairly tame. But last week, a couple of articles that were related to national issues drew over 100 comments, many of which were combative and filled with vulgarities.
We do have a comment policy listed on our Facebook page, but enforcement is a challenge.
Social media platforms have some automated systems that help prevent spam, but people have ways to get around the filters. When the volume of comments gets to be too much, it is nearly impossible to keep up.
I will add that my personal philosophy has a strong bias against restricting speech. Honestly, I would much prefer that people who subscribe to the Tribune take it upon themselves to contribute constructively to the conversation.
Now, I am fairly certain that at least some of the Facebook commenters are bots. But some people from the community are taking the time to get online and argue with, or rather yell at, each other.
Frankly, I don’t see that behavior doing anyone any good. Social media is a poor place to try to convince someone of a different point of view. Real dialogue takes much more than 140 characters.
A letter to the Clarion Call might be a more effective and longer-form way to express views. I would invite community members to consider how they can contribute more constructively to a community conversation, and to consider doing so here in this space.
For myself, I ended up deleting my social media apps from my phone this week. I needed to get away from the noise.
Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of great things about the Internet as well. People can connect across long distances better than they could in the past. Online groups form around shared interests, making it easier to find others who want to learn together about various hobbies or act collectively to improve their communities.
For many, however, connecting online is a poor replacement for connecting in real life. The act of sitting behind a computer screen can give the impression that you are relating with others in the community, but often it contributes to increased loneliness instead.
In 2023, the AMA Journal of Ethics released a peer-reviewed article on the subject. In it, the authors, Andrew P. Smith, PhD and Hasah Alheneidi, PhD, wrote: “It could be argued that people have better interpersonal interactions because of social media, which could reduce loneliness. But documented internet use patterns suggest that the internet increases loneliness.”
Their article acknowledges that the way people use the internet can have a profound effect on the impact it has on them. Not all internet use is bad, nor does all social media use contribute to loneliness.
On the positive side of social media, we shared that Michael Glenn, the founding publisher of The Hutchinson Tribune, won an Entrepreneurship award from the Kansas Department of Commerce last week. That post also drew more comments than average, but they had a completely different tone.
I would argue that the positive comments from local community members on that post contribute positively to our connectedness as a community. People rallied to congratulate a talented young man from our community, connecting with each other and with him.
Michael wrote about his experience in his column for this week’s edition, so I will not elaborate further except to offer my own heartfelt congratulations along with the commenters on Facebook.
When you are online, remember that the way that we choose to engage can have a profound effect not only on the people with whom we interact but also on our own mental health. If you find yourself feeling lonely while spending hours every day on social media, it might be time to rethink how you interact on those platforms.
We really do live in a wonderful community with great neighbors who are worth knowing. And the next time you are getting ready to post an angry comment, take a moment, put your phone down and connect with someone in real life.
Jackson Swearer is the Publisher and Managing Editor of The Hutchinson Tribune. He can be reached at jackson@hutchtribune.com.