Before Texting (BT)

by Kris Pitcher

A friend in the industry recently wrote a pretty good rant (I love a good rant) about supporting people instead of hating on them. She suggested commending people for their efforts, the things they might be doing right, rather than bashing what they're doing wrong.

What a great concept. Social media has us bullying everyone around us on account of we don't really have to say anything to any one's face. Now I'm going to tell you about the "olden" days.

Remember back in the old days when you actually had to speak to someone to find out what they were doing? You had to confront someone if you thought they'd said something about you, or if you had a problem with them...or if you wanted to say something nice to them.

There were times, before texting (BT), when we actually spoke to people on the phone. True. We would dial their number, greet the person who answered, and ask to speak with the person we were calling. If they weren't available, or they were grounded, we would be asked if we would like to leave a message.

At that point, the person on the other end of the phone would take the message and relay it to our friend, and they would call us back. Huh? We might have to wait an hour. Or until the NEXT DAY. Crazy.

But that's not even my point. That was just to set the tone for how things used to be. But now we just text. And we expect our text to be returned, IMMEDIATELY. If not sooner.

We did have abbreviations, in the old days. And this recent rant made me think of one. Now, I'll admit, I have no idea what the kids are texting in code these days. I don't really care, because I don't have kids who might be hiding stuff from me.

That abbreviation (which is my point here) was MYOB. I'm sure you know that one? Mind Your Own Business. That's right. Mind your own. Not everything that everyone posts all the time requires your commentary. Shocked? I know, it's hard for me too.

Not every single thing needs your attention, your input, your critique, or your evaluation. Leave it alone. Be a bystander a little bit more if you are that person who just HAS to get a word in. It's not easy, we want to be helpful. We think we're being helpful.

You know what? It's not all that helpful. You might know more, have been down that road, made those same mistakes...let them figure it out. Commend them for what they're doing right and MYOB. That's my public service for the day. And a look back into time, BT.