Granny Daphne is my communication benchmark.

It’s interesting and often shocking to hear about different people’s experiences online. We all know the meme “Don’t read the comments” (DRTC) and sadly, for a lot of people, that does need to be a guiding light. Sometimes it becomes the ‘hidden area’ where people forget their morals, or the fact that recipient of the comment is in fact a real human being. This has been particularly highlighted in the last week or so with the announcement of the Supreme Court overturning the 1973 ruling on Roe v Wade.

"Don’t read the comments"

I’ve been using ‘social media’ in various forms for many years…. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and also LinkedIn (you may have heard of it). It's also worth including the various pieces of messaging software we use, like email and Slack.... Teams, Google Hangouts, Skype and AOL Instant Messenger ??. I tailor what I post to the platform that it’s on, because for me they all represent different interests of mine (and largely represent the different interests of different audiences). That said, there are definite crossovers from time to time…. and, if kept in check that’s probably okay.

Image: The content crossover of my social media platforms

I like to think that I am empathetic and respectful of those I encounter, and that applies online as much as it does in person. I try not to say anything that I think will offend anyone, and it doesn’t matter if I have met that person in real life, an industry influencer or someone who’s post has been ‘liked’ by a connection. That’s not to say I don’t challenge or engage in healthy conversation, but there’s ways to do it respectfully.

My granny Daphne is 96 years old and the most wonderful person you could meet. She was around a lot when I was a child and spent time caring for my brother and I when we stayed with them in the summer holidays. She was loving but could be strict and, partly based on the era that she grew up in, had very specific ideas about how people should be respectfully treated and communicated with. When staying at granny’s you always said “please” and “thank you” and asked to be excused from the table. I also observed how she would communicate with people in shops, family members, and anyone else who visited her. People always came away having had a positive interaction with Daphne.

I was thinking about it again recently and remembered that I applied a rule to myself from the start of my social media engagement… “Would granny Daphne be offended if she read this?”. Seems like a small thing, but I absolutely do this all the time… I’ve even done it with this post! If everyone had their own granny Daphne benchmark, then maybe the comments of social media would be a much more pleasant place to be.