I always say that social media helped build my career as an ERISA attorney. Without LinkedIn and the articles I write on JDSupra, I would have starved a long time ago when I went on my own. Social media should be a wonderful thing, but lately, I’ve seen nothing but negative.

The beauty of social media is that allowed people to express their opinions and be heard and the bad part of social media is that it allowed people to express their opinions and be heard. It allows people to opine on matters that shouldn’t concern them (other people’s lives). It allows people to post hurtful and racist comments with anonymity. It allows people to be cruel without the courage to say it to someone’s face. It has led to an increase in narcissism and other psychological disorders. It has been used to spread hate and it has been used to increase the number of school shootings (it’s not just about guns). The Internet has been around for more than 25 years, but it is the boom of social media (Twitter and Facebook) that has seen such an explosion in so many terrible acts and has led the political process to become more like professional wrestling.

I’m not saying we should get rid of social media, I’m saying we should take a harder look on the negativity that it creates instead of just focusing on the positive.