By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    What Are the Benefits of CBD?
    November 27, 2021
    How to Measure Adult Diapers- The Ultimate Guide to Picking the Right Size
    March 8, 2022
    medicine cabinet
    The Effect Of Finished Dosage Form Manufacturing In New Drugs
    July 5, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Tooth Decay Marielaina Perrone DDS
    Is Your Child’s Education Affected By Tooth Decay?
    December 13, 2012
    Image
    Millions of Americans Could Lose ACA Subsidies
    July 21, 2014
    Image
    IVF: The Three Biggest Myths
    March 22, 2013
    Latest News
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
    Building Smarter Care Teams: Aligning Roles, Structure, and Clinical Expertise
    May 18, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: When Is Social Media Anti-Social?
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > eHealth > Social Media > When Is Social Media Anti-Social?
Social Media

When Is Social Media Anti-Social?

Paul Tunnah
Last updated: September 3, 2014 8:00 am
Paul Tunnah
Share
5 Min Read
Image
SHARE

ImageSocial media is all about sharing, right? Sharing ideas, information, pictures, jokes, gossip and, of course – questions – based on the premise that the wisdom of the crowd will inevitably lead to the best answer.

ImageSocial media is all about sharing, right? Sharing ideas, information, pictures, jokes, gossip and, of course – questions – based on the premise that the wisdom of the crowd will inevitably lead to the best answer.

If you boil it down to the basics, the best way to answer any question is with the most robust information put in front of the most experienced people, leading to the most informed, and therefore accurate, opinions on the solution. While it all sounds good in principle, the journey to the best solution often involves input from very differing schools of thought. And for some of the more complex questions, the answers are not immediately obvious, leading to quite heated debates over which opinion is right and wrong.

This is why good social media channels have clearly articulated rules around how you can engage, normally based around some basic principles, such as:

More Read

Personalized Medicine: Reimbursement and Marketing Challenges
LANDMARK STUDY: Variation in Physician Networks Across the US
Can Google Predict Who Catches the Flu?
The Curious History of Hashtags Plus Six Useful Resources
Spending Budget on Pay-Per-Click Advertising For Your Hospital? Make Sure You Understand All Your Results.
  • Don’t make negative claims about people or companies you can’t back up
  • Don’t share private / confidential information
  • Don’t use offensive or aggressive language
  • Basically, don’t upset other folks!

But it’s not always that simple in reality – something which was reinforced to me in a discussion with a friend of mine who had just been booted out of a LinkedIn group. I’ll spare the specific details to protect the innocent, but suffice to say that while he’s not afraid to make his opinions known, he is not the sort who will flagrantly breach these rules, or go out of his way to upset anyone.

The challenge therefore, is that ‘grey’ area between someone having a strong, but opposing opinion to others, and crossing the line of deliberately causing offence. I say ‘deliberately’ quite, err, deliberately as, quite frankly, we all get a little hot under the collar when someone vehemently disagrees with us. The even bigger challenge is, as I suspect may have happened in this case, that the ‘offending’ opinion voiced is contrary to that of the people making the rules for the discussion – the moderators.

It’s a tricky one. As a moderator myself, I know that finding the right set of rules is hard enough, but enforcing them in a pragmatic way is even harder. Also, as a group grows more popular, enforcing them also has to be a time-efficient process, which can limit pragmatism.

It’s also a debate that cuts to the very heart of ‘free speech’, in the much broader context of how the online world is shaping up. I’m thinking of Google being forced to remove links to protect the rights of people offended, or feeling misrepresented by them.

Democracy, it seems, is being tested on the internet.

So, as avid social media users, what is our role in this?

Simple – we should be using these channels to have exactly this debate. Where do we draw the line between democratic disagreement and acceptable levels of free speech, versus inappropriately offending people? Where is that line when it comes to embracing multiple different viewpoints as part of the journey to finding the best crowd sourced answers? And are those two lines in the same place, or do we have to accept that to find the best answers, we have to have a level of honest conversation and diverse opinion that is inevitably going to upset someone?

Perhaps we should all remember the popular saying, “you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs”.

I’m really interested to hear people’s thoughts on this one. At what point does a strong advocate of their opinion become a troll? And at what point does a staunch defender of theirs become a victim? And perhaps the biggest question of them all – is the quick-fire nature of social media, combined with the lack of non-textual communication cues, making us all intolerant, grumpy and anti-social?

Now there’s a question I’m sure you’ll all disagree on. Just do it nicely please.

TAGGED:pharmaphorum
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025
How Therapy Can Improve Your Mental Health and Daily Life
How Therapy Can Improve Your Mental Health and Daily Life
Mental Health
June 18, 2025
healthcare facilities
Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
Global Healthcare Infographics
June 15, 2025

You Might also Like

Who Will Drive Social Media Use in Health Care? Part 1

July 1, 2011

Top Tips to Boost Facebook Engagement

February 22, 2014
brand building
Social Media

Thinking Forward: Taking Your Hospital Brand to the Next Level

August 12, 2015

Healthcare a Passion of Yours? Win an Award!

November 22, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?