Hatebook

Can we just talk about the fact that everyone uses the word "hashtag" in real life? It's kind of amazing how much one simple action on a social media site can change the way we talk in casual conversation. I don't know how many times I've heard the words "hashtag first world problems" used in sentences lately. It may seem like a fun way to label a minor problem, but this hashtag has led to a variety of, what I deem, offensive language.

Hashtag freshman problems, gdi problems, Greek life problems, white girl problems, black girl problems, n-word problems, bitch problems and retard problems are all examples of how one hash tag can lead to very offensive ones. Of course, it's bad enough that this language appears on social media sites, but the fact that these offensive hash tags are being used in conversation among friends is a little scary.

In my opinion, people like to hid behind their social media sites and use them as a channel to say whatever they want without feeling the repercussions of their words – it's the same as Fakebook, but with much deeper consequences. When people lie about who they are in social media, the only people they are hurting are themselves. When people use offensive, destructive language on social media, more people feel the sting of the words. 

Who is doing it? Well, we all are. Whether we think we are not, almost everybody in social media has faulted here. It’s not our fault every time because we don’t stop to think of what is offensive to others – even though we may think it’s a joke, sometimes jokes aren’t always funny.

What can we do? We can lead by example. Take the time to ensure that your social media posts aren’t offensive by any means. The more often we do this, we can make sure that Hatebook doesn’t grow.