Let’s Try Something New on Social Media #SeePositiveSharePositive

The image above was something I posted to Instagram and across the social media accounts for this page for a specific reason. I wanted to both thank the people who do share and retweet posts from this site, and also gently remind people that this is basically a one-man endeavor. There’s no marketing department, there’s no money coming in, period. So there’s clearly no advertising budget. The only way things from here reach survivors who need to know they aren’t alone or need to hear more about mental health resources, or stigma, etc. is from stumbling onto the site, or because you all share things.

I also still had that last post about our responsibility as distributors from that last post on my mind as well.

It got me thinking. We hear so often about how much hate and trolling goes on when it comes to social media. I have long been a proponent of not following accounts that bring you down to that level, and not engaging in any of it. I have, since day one of this blog, wanted to use the technology of the internet to promote positive messages, to have at least one website be a place where child abuse survivors or those dealing with mental health issues could see that there are others out there dealing with the same things, and at least one place where they could not be stigmatized.

Social Media could be that place too, if we could create enough accounts willing to commit to that same thing.

The more I thought about that idea, the more I thought we need to be able to have that. It would help reduce the mental health strain social media is having on us. It would provide positivity in the face of so much negativity that we are bombarded with every single day. It would also encourage people to get out and share things from websites like this one, that don’t have a marketing budget, that can’t promote posts, or buy ads, but that are willing to share positive, educational, messages. Places that, frankly, deserve more attention than the fake news and outrage machines that seem to dominate our newsfeeds currently.

So, I want to challenge you to think about a post you’ve seem lately. It could be a story of overcoming abuse, or a resource helping people with depression. It could be a photo of a lovely sunset, or a tech tip that helped you learn how to do something new to take a couple of examples from my own websites. But it doesn’t have to be my websites, though I’m always appreciative of that. It can be anything that, when shared, is bringing something of positive value to the people who follow you on social media, or even just the people you decide to send it to in a private message.

If you do find something really useful that you want to share, let’s start using the hashtag #SeePositiveSharePositive on those posts as well. Remind the world that there are positive uses for blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. That these are simply tools that we can use to tear each other down, or that we can use to educate, share, and bring people together.

Social Media can be a time suck. It can be damaging, and depressing, and frustrating, and every other bad things you can think of. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Not if you reward the people and websites that are trying to make a difference. Not if you’re willing to share things that improve the quality of the newsfeed for everyone who follows you.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”If you do find something really useful that you want to share, let’s start using the hashtag #SeePositiveSharePositive on those posts as well. Remind the world that there are positive uses for blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc” quote=”If you do find something really useful that you want to share, let’s start using the hashtag #SeePositiveSharePositive on those posts as well. Remind the world that there are positive uses for blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc”]

So, in the “grand” tradition of the anti-terrorist warning to “See Something, Say Something”, let’s terrorize social media with good, quality, caring information. If you see something that makes a positive contribution to your day, or that you think would make a positive contribution to someone’s day, whatever it is, share that something. The idea is simple. If we can get this hashtag in use, then someone having a bad day, the kind of day where looking at typical social media would just make them feel worse, let’s create a hashtag that would lift them up instead. It can’t hurt.

I’ll be looking out for the hashtag…. 😉