By Cheryl Mattox Berry
Bloggers are using tweets and email by shooting victim Trayvon Martin to portray him as a violent person in an effort to support claims by gunman George Zimmerman that he acted in self-defense. After reading some of the messages, I concluded that Trayvon was a typical teenager who talked about girls, sex, rap music, movies, street culture and school. In no way does Trayvon come across as a dangerous person.
The latest page from the Trayvon Martin shooting case presents another teachable moment. The lesson: Be careful what you tweet. You never know how it will be interpreted or misinterpreted. The hardest thing for teens to grasp is how damaging social media can be. It’s not a toy, but that’s how it’s treated. Private thoughts – whether simple, sweet, vulgar, sexy, racist or funny – become public thoughts with a click. Swoosh. It’s out there. You can’t take it back.
There is no filter to delete statements that can come back to haunt you, so you must learn to self-edit. Before taking to Twitter when you feel a need to express yourself, STOP. Think about the tweet. Is it something that you wouldn’t want your mother to see? If so, don’t send it. I know, it’s not for your mother’s eyes, but that doesn’t mean she and other adults won’t see it. You leave a digital fingerprint every time you tweet, text or e-mail. Somebody somewhere can access your account and make it available to those not meant to see it. In Trayvon’s case, his email account was hacked by white supremacists, and the tweets revealed courtesy of The Daily Caller, a conservative website.
You may think your tweets are not a big deal, but they are. Viewers, including prospective colleges and employers, judge you based on what you have written. It may not be the real you, but how would they know that? In this high-tech world, you are what you write. Choose your words carefully.