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Social Media and the Law of There's Always ONE
There's always one...
I was halfway through the book God's Equation when a sentence stopped me.
"On July 3, 1913, the Prussian Academy in Berlin voted to accept Einstein for membership in a vote of twenty-one to one."
Wait –
Who did not vote for Einstein?
Who wouldn't vote for Einstein?
Was he having a bad day?
What was behind his decision-making process?
I wondered about him the same way I wondered about the 5th dentist. You know, the one who didn't recommend Trident.
I was explaining my fascination with all of this to my husband when he added the comparison, "Oh yeah, it's like that guy who didn't vote for Derek Jeter to be in the Baseball Hall of Fame."
Because I don't speak sports, he explained the situation, and I told him it also reminded me of this quote by Dita von Teese:
"You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there's still going to be somebody who hates peaches."
There's always one.
It's an irrefutable Law of the Universe. And a law of social media.
Working in social media for the last decade taught me to expect (and accept) that Law. There's always going to be at least one contrarian to whatever you do, say or post.
So how should you respond to or deal with the ONE?
There are a few avenues you can take:
1. Block or report on the social platform where the harassment takes place.
2. Take their criticism with a grain of salt. I love this video from Glennon Doyle on the topic.
3. Ignore the ONE completely.
4. Respond with hilarity.
5. Kill them with kindness.
6. Stand up and assert yourself or your awesomeness.
7. Know that it's okay to step away and turn off your devices.
How you respond depends entirely your situation and the severity (or obnoxiousness) of "the one's" harassment.
Just know that no matter what you do on social media, there's going to be someone out there who can't stand you.
Live, and post, with that in mind. But don't let it slow you down or discourage you from putting your voice out there.
Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best from people you meet online.
Because even though there's always that ONE, there are many, many more lovely people and fruitful interactions waiting for you within social media.