The internet has become very public with certain platforms reaching different communities. People talk a lot about censorship or certain bias in regards to views or ideas. Public figures normally had neutral positions on most topics but with the expansion of social media some public figures started taking positions on certain topics. A lot of people who follow certain celebrity status influencers will then display their own opinions as well.

The viewpoints tend to aggregate and follow people’s browsing histories, what they watch or share. Normally certain positions become entrenched and even obsessive. People will trade words for or against viewpoints, preferences, personal opinions and share content they feel backs up their viewpoints. Some ideas go viral yet the constant equation is engagement and orchestration of content.

I work with a lot of different people who come from different cultures, have different opinions, lifestyles and ideas. What can become problematic is when people can’t discern reality from the barrage of ideas they expose themselves to on certain digital platforms. They feel they have to engage with people like they do on these platforms in reality. People can entertain any idea they want but in a work environment you need appropriate behaviours.

Really though, even a public digital platform should require some restraint and decorum. People may feel they are being censored, singled out or whatever but to me you need to act appropriately in public forums. This applies to a digital platform as well as reality. I don’t want to see people silenced but when they start bringing a lot of their digital mindset into the workplace it is a very sad thing to watch.

You see grown men sitting on their favourite platforms getting burdened by something they get worked up about. They keep coming back to it even though they look like they need a decent night’s sleep. They worry that some group of people they have nothing to do with will come to bother them and set about entrenching their burden and position. The only people who are benefiting from this nonsense are tech billionaires. Everyone else is just losing their mind for stuff that is insignificant, a virtual mountain out of a molehill. What a way to make money from peoples mental real estate.