I saw a video this week from syndicated radio host Bobby Bones that asked why we get so offended.
There are plenty of things that happen every day where someone gets offended. It’s probably always been that way, to some extent, but now we have the internet BLASTING stuff in front of our faces that can make us offended.
Bobby wondered why we get so offended at these things and then said: “You CHOOSE to be offended!” At first I thought, “What? These people ARE offensive!” Then I realized… he’s right!
The video stems from a guest he had on his radio show recently and how people were blowing up his DM’s and comments that they were offended. He had the “Hawk Tua” girl on for an interview. She recently went viral and if you don’t know why, you can Google it.
Anyway, the point is… if you don’t like something, don’t watch it. Don’t listen to it. Scroll on by.
Bobby points out that you can not like something but you are CHOOSING to be offended. It’s okay to disagree with something or think it’s gross or stupid but then….MOVE ON! If you really don’t like something why keep talking about it? Why would you repost something that you feel is gross or you strongly disagree with? The only explanation I can think of is you’re reposting it in case your friends didn’t see it and you’re saying, “Hey! Did you see this? Isn’t this horrible? I hate it!” Then why share it and extend it’s life? You’re giving the person who posted it more clicks and more mileage.
I will admit I spend way too much time on the internet. Why? I like to think I need to because of my job. I feel like I need to know what’s going on and what people are talking about but I could probably cut back on my time online and not notice a big difference. Recently I have been “snoozing” people on Facebook because I just get tired of their posts or comments and I need a break.
Do you feel like there’s been an increase in people being offended? Do you think there are more people BEING offensive? I think there are just more WAYS for people to spread their offensive messages.
Here comes the “BACK IN MY DAY” part.
Back in my day you had the newspaper, the radio and the “Today Show” or “Good Morning America.” At noon you had your local news and then there was nothing until the news came back on at 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. You didn’t get any news or gossip unless you picked up a magazine or the National Enquirer. Every now and then you’d catch an offensive headline while you were waiting in line at the grocery store. That was it. Now?
You wake up in the morning and check your phone. Having coffee? Check your phone. Waiting at the doctor’s office? Check your phone. Or the TV is on the 24-hour “news” station in the waiting room. And I purposely put news in parenthesis because, sometimes, I wonder what the definition of “news” is nowadays.
This new way of “broadcasting” news and rumors is not going away anytime soon. I also don’t expect the jerks who post this stuff and comment on things will change either. I’ve told you before that I actually know someone who wakes up in the morning and wonders, “Who can I piss off today?” What a great goal to have huh?
One thing we can do is not to get so offended. Why let it ruin your day? The person who posted or commented is probably not going to change their mind or remove their post just because you call them out.
Ignore it. Scroll by. You’ve got more important things to do with your time.
I’ll be watching puppy videos if you need me.
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