RocketMedic
Californian, Lost in Texas
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This is primarily oriented towards the newer people in this field, but bears consideration for all of us.
Obviously, social media is a thing. Facebook, Twitter, EMTLife, Instagram, etc. It’s not going away. So, here’s some advice.
1. Don’t engage cults of personality or pages. There’s more than a few of them on Facebook, especially ones linked to people who style themselves to be change agents. Even the “trendy”, edgy ones who say the right things and seem supportive are suspect. It’s OK to browse, to giggle, etc. But don’t comment or like!
1A. Opinions can be dangerous. Cults of personality, especially when they are in alignment with trends at your employer, are even more dangerous with their opinions because they’ll tend to communicate between one another and they’ll often view any criticism of that opinion, trend, etc as a personal insult. Never assume that even a reasonable disagreement will be construed in its intended context. Always assume that criticism, even constructive criticism or inputs, will be viewed as a personal attack. There’s a lot of snowflakes out there, and most of them will get angry if you challenge them, and they’re the kind of snowflakes that will deliberately melt on your tacos.
2. ANYTHING YOU SAY, CAN AND WILL BE MISCONSTRUED AND ABUSED!
People, especially those who often lead in EMS agencies, are not particularly inclined to consider context, audience or even what you said. That typically means that you’re already wrong for saying anything. Additionally, most social-media policies are written in an incredibly broad fashion, so that any commentary you make (regardless of content) can be warped to fit a narrative, regardless of topic, context or audience.
3. Maintain a layer of anonymity: It’s OK for certain people to know who you are online. Don’t make those people your employer without a lot of trust and good reason. Along those lines, don’t engage the aforementioned Cults of Personality. Don’t discuss things with them, don’t argue with them, and definitely don’t do it under a Facebook tag.
Basically, don’t engage people on Facebook, even if they sound smart
Obviously, social media is a thing. Facebook, Twitter, EMTLife, Instagram, etc. It’s not going away. So, here’s some advice.
1. Don’t engage cults of personality or pages. There’s more than a few of them on Facebook, especially ones linked to people who style themselves to be change agents. Even the “trendy”, edgy ones who say the right things and seem supportive are suspect. It’s OK to browse, to giggle, etc. But don’t comment or like!
1A. Opinions can be dangerous. Cults of personality, especially when they are in alignment with trends at your employer, are even more dangerous with their opinions because they’ll tend to communicate between one another and they’ll often view any criticism of that opinion, trend, etc as a personal insult. Never assume that even a reasonable disagreement will be construed in its intended context. Always assume that criticism, even constructive criticism or inputs, will be viewed as a personal attack. There’s a lot of snowflakes out there, and most of them will get angry if you challenge them, and they’re the kind of snowflakes that will deliberately melt on your tacos.
2. ANYTHING YOU SAY, CAN AND WILL BE MISCONSTRUED AND ABUSED!
People, especially those who often lead in EMS agencies, are not particularly inclined to consider context, audience or even what you said. That typically means that you’re already wrong for saying anything. Additionally, most social-media policies are written in an incredibly broad fashion, so that any commentary you make (regardless of content) can be warped to fit a narrative, regardless of topic, context or audience.
3. Maintain a layer of anonymity: It’s OK for certain people to know who you are online. Don’t make those people your employer without a lot of trust and good reason. Along those lines, don’t engage the aforementioned Cults of Personality. Don’t discuss things with them, don’t argue with them, and definitely don’t do it under a Facebook tag.
Basically, don’t engage people on Facebook, even if they sound smart