TOW#492 — Blocking
If you’re wondering whether or not it’s OK to block people on social media, you should perhaps also ask yourselves whether it’s OK to ignore people in general.
Ignoring people isn’t something we have to decide on every day, because in reality we all generally understand when we can ignore someone and when, no matter how much we want to, we simply can’t or aren’t allowed. If it’s just an acquaintance, then you can just avoid meeting that person, but if they’re a colleague or someone we’re forced to communicate with, we don’t have much choice.
However, when talking about social media, the whole concept of blocking/ignoring is totally different. Opinions are divided on whether blocking on social media is OK or not, but one thing is clear — blocking someone on social media logically leads to blocking/ignoring that same person in real life. If we start from the idea that what you do on social media reflects (in) your personal life, I think that blocking is generally immature because it doesn’t solve and/or eliminate problems. Additionally, if we were to define maturity as taking responsibility, accepting guilt when necessary, solving problems, and so on, then blocking is one of the least mature ways of dealing with all of that.
Blocking/ignoring:
- Doesn’t solve problems, just sweeps them under the rug, and sooner or later they’ll re-emerge but this time much bigger;
- Doesn’t sort out your relationship with people, on the contrary, it deepens the gulf that existed or opens up new ones;
- Doesn’t make you brave or humble, but arrogant and weak in communication, something that can tarnish your reputation;
- Doesn’t allow you to forgive, on the contrary, the act of blocking only amplifies the problem and the possibility of forgiveness and apology moves further away, increasing hostilities even more;
- Doesn’t give you the chance to understand the other side, and in doing so to try to convince them of the (in)correctness of their view, or to examine whether maybe you’ve made a mistake and perhaps acknowledge that you’re wrong and they’re right;
- It won’t help you become stronger or more mature. People that like to block on social media also tend to block and ignore people in their everyday lives, which means that doing so will turn you into a person that simply doesn’t want to deal with any kinds of issues, problems or misunderstandings.
Blocking is most often used as a form of revenge, but if you take all of the above into consideration, you’re not actually taking revenge on others, but on yourself, i.e. you’re only hurting yourself! Blocking/ignoring is easy, but the consequences are long-term. Therefore, next time you want to block someone, think carefully before clicking the button!
Wishing you success with the changes to come,
@kalinbabusku
Member of the Team
“Tip of the Week” Team member
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