Tough Topics And Social Media

I read an article about a reporter from National Public Radio (NPR) who was using Twitter as a mechanism to communicate to his followers what he was feeling, as he sat next to his mother during the last days of her life.  During the series of days that are now memorialized via his tweets to his followers, there were melancholy moments along with some bitter sweet periods of vulnerability when one realizes that this part of life is something that one has no control over.  When I read through the article, I could understand the need for someone to reach out to anyone who may have gone through the same journey and seek a sense of camaraderie or support.  In reading what the public and others in the media were discussing during and afterwards, it appeared that there was a lot positive and negative feedback.  Some folks found his messages to be too disturbing and especially those that had gone through something similar not too long ago.  Others found what he wrote to have been courageous in the midst of such trying circumstances.  I too have experienced losing people close to me during my life time, however, when those periods occurred it was during a different time when social media was not as prevalent as it is today.  Now the world of people that follow you via Twitter or Facebook along with any other social media platform provides an immediate audience that quickly responds to something that connects to another individual.  I would probably gravitate to the use of social media outlets as a way to obtain support or connect to another person in similar circumstances.  I can also understand that others find these instances of humanity to be so personal that the thought of using a mechanism such as social media can lend itself to a possible trivialization of the situation.  If the world has evolved on how we communicate, then it is also my belief that the acceptable means by which we use them should be as varied as the individual.  Going through a loss of a loved one is always among the most difficult things that one has to endure. Therefore if a mechanism is in place that can allow one to grieve or find comfort and support among a community of individuals, then it should be an allowable venue for those that need it.  I am not sure what the world will be like in fifty years from now, however, I suspect that technology will play an even bigger role in how we function.  If there are tough topics to contend with and there are tools that can be used to address them, then perhaps our evolution will proceed accordingly.