Alligator Baiting and a Few Thoughts on Social Media

Gator Attack in FLA

This week, a Florida teenager, who was swimming in a lake with friends, was attacked by an alligator that bit the kid’s arm off below the elbow.  Several alligators were destroyed in search of the amputated limb.  Authorities eventually found the arm but doctors were unable to reattach it.  The kid was heralded on the news for his good humor, bravery and presence of mind during the attack.  He was quoted saying that he’s lived in that area his whole life, always swims in that lake, knew exactly what to do to fight off the “gator” and had intentionally offered up his arm to avoid being bitten in the torso. 

………Smart kid, except for the whole intentionally swimming in the alligator-infested lake part.

In a related story, a 21 year old man was found dead in a tiger exhibit in a Copenhagen zoo.  He had been mauled.  An investigation is being conducted to determine why the man was in the exhibit, but the article I read made a point of saying that the tigers would not be put down.  Regardless of the results of the investigation, I can’t think of any reason that would justify destroying the tigers.   If this was a homicide or suicide, it’s an interesting story; otherwise it’s just another example of a person rolling the dice with nature, and losing.

Social Media Rant

 I’ve used the same Samsung flip phone since 2005. I like the convenience of a cell phone and use mine a lot more than I use my landline when I’m home.  I don’t like to text, but I answer every one I get.  I try to answer any call I get unless I don’t recognize the incoming number.  If a call goes to voicemail because I’m away from my phone or busy, I return the call as soon I can. 

I use Facebook, and have really enjoyed reconnecting with friends from my younger days.  I also use Linked-In. I use email a lot and check and respond to emails daily.  I don’t tweet, so I can’t comment on how it’s used.

I was raised to say please and thank you (in person and with Thank You cards) and to use proper phone etiquette.  Although those were simpler times, common courtesy is timeless, I think.

It seems to me that the concept of etiquette is absent when it comes to using these modern communication tools, which comprise the Social Media I’m going to discuss here, and I’m bugged a bunch by some of the behaviors that I observe.

     Observations

·         It’s funny to watch people play with Apps on their phones as they ignore every call and text that arrives.  It’s good that it’s funny to watch, because that partially makes up for the fact that these people are usually lousy company.

·         Some other people answer EVERY incoming call and text, as if to say, “Any person calling or texting me is WAY more important to me than you are.”

·         Some people make you listen to an uncomfortably long clip of their favorite song before they answer or you are allowed to leave a voicemail.

·         Some people will call you back without first listening to voicemail you left for them.  It’s really annoying, especially if you purposefully left a detailed voicemail, to have to repeat yourself.  Sometimes I want to ask the person to listen to my voicemail and call me back later.  Other times I want to say, “Oh, I was letting you know that your house was on fire.”

·         Some people will look you right in the eye and insist that they NEVER received your voicemail or text.  Sometimes, for effect, they’ll look at their phone right then in front of you, as if to prove it.

·         Some people answer calls when they’re in a stall next to me in a public restroom.   It makes me feel like I should wait a minute until I flush.  Some people text in there.  It’d be a good idea to NEVER borrow their phones.

·         Some people leave their cell phones turned off until they need to make a call.  A lot of these people aren’t in the habit of checking for missed calls.

·         Some people abbreviate too many words in a text, to the point that their meaning is unclear.  Sometimes I want to call them for clarification before I text them back.

·         Clearly, texting is socially acceptable everywhere.  I haven’t seen anyone texting at a funeral yet, but that’s about the only exception, and I honestly don’t go to many funerals. 

·         I think some people text or email to avoid ticklish or embarrassing or angry moments in person.  

·         I don’t know why people feel the need to post their current locations on Facebook.   Are these invitations for us to join you, or are you just gloating? 

·         Some people don’t answer emails or offline messages, ever.

·         Sometimes people use Facebook to post inspirational sayings or posters they’ve found.  Sometimes these postings are misspelled, and these misspelled sayings travel the world, both inspiring people and teaching them things like how to erroneously write “your” instead of “you are”.

·         Some people on Facebook challenge their friends that failure to repost something equates to being an uncaring person and bad friend.   That behavior seems to contradict the friendly intent of Facebook.

·         Social Media and gadgets have created a bunch of new ways for rude people to be rude.  It adds insult to injury to be ignored or ill-treated in multimedia.  I find it to be an ironic phenomenon that despite Social Media, we as a culture probably communicate less effectively than ever.  Is there a common courtesy App?