The Bachelorette and Navigating Twitter

@usweekly @chrisbharrison @kaitlynbristowe Oops! I bet she was sleeping with Chris too #TheBachelorette #MenTellAll

— 23change23 (@23change23) July 22, 2015

Your so full of it #Chrisharrison #TheBachelorette #MenTellAll keep spinning the negativity #faiklyn America sees the truth about her

— BrunoO (@imyourdog666) July 21, 2015

These tweets are enough to make anyone want to throw away their electronics and hide under their bed. But then Harrison called Kaitlyn a role model! These Tweets are certainly out of line, but that doesn’t mean we need to endorse promisucity, right?

What We Believe

We in the Church don’t agree with Kaitlyn’s actions, yet, the media is praising them. The tension between our beliefs and what is popularly supported can be discouraging, but it in no way justifies hateful language.

The hateful dialogue, regardless of how “well-meaning” it is, is utterly unhelpful as well as being extremely hurtful. It is full of condemnation, judgemental attitudes, and fear.

In the Church, there is a strong emphasis on sharing our beliefs. So how can we effectively share our beliefs with others without being condemning–like the Tweeters shown on The Bachelorette most certainly were?

In an amazing talk given in October 2014 General Conference, Elder Oaks spoke about Loving Others and Living with Differences.

He said, “Like the Savior, His followers are sometimes confronted by sinful behavior, and today when they hold out for right and wrong as they understand it, they are sometimes called “bigots” or “fanatics.” On the subject of public discourse, we should all follow the gospel teachings to love our neighbor and avoid contention. … Though we may disagree, we should not be disagreeable.”

So, How Can We Communicate with Others Well Online?

Specifically on Twitter, things can turn nasty fast. Especially on hot hashtags, twenty people can jump on one comment at once and bury it in replies; however, social media is just another tool we have to share the gospel.

• On Twitter, it’s important to remember that you only have 140 characters to work with (including punctuation), so be concise. Another quick Twitter courtesy tip is to only tweet at (@username) the person you are responding to. Not everyone in the conversation.
• Use hashtags when appropriate and use not more than two in one tweet. The hashtags #sharegoodness, #faith, #bookofmormon, etc. are always good go-tos.
• In order to stay relevant in the conversation, remember to choose relevant hashtags to talk with other people who are tweeting about an issue. For instance, if you were talking about the negative consequences of porn you could say, “Porn is hurting us all #pornkillslove #sharegoodness @fightthenewdrug”

I believe in chastity before marriage, but the hate tweets about Kaitlyn are ridiculous. #LDS #waitformarriage #TheBachelorette — Mackenzie Brown (@real_Mackboo7) July 27, 2015

• Though things seem dim sometimes, it is important to have hope in the Gospel and hope in our fellow people. Yes, the world is a difficult place to live in, but there is so much potential for good if we can let go of our fears and trust in God. And that’s a difficult pill to swallow sometimes, especially when the media presents such an awful picture for us.
• The important thing is to not take our fears out on other people resulting in caustic language. It’s true that their morals might be different than ours, but we must always be courteous and patient online.
• We can also endeavor to have the Spirit with us at all times, and especially when we are communicating our beliefs to another. Perhaps we can pray for help when we respond to others about our faith and, if we are not feeling the Spirit at that time, we can walk away from the computer.
• Some of the best ways to communicate effectively involve being a good listener by letting other people finish their thoughts and repeating what you think they said back to them.

For instance, a forum user might say, “YOU GO GIRL! Kaitlyn is standing up for sexual freedom for us all! I lived with my boyfriend before I married him, and it was the best decision we ever made.”

Another forum user could practice good communication by replying,

“I appreciate [name]’s comment about knowing what you’re getting yourself into before you get married. I believe that you should save sexual behavior for marriage, but you must exercise caution in picking the right guy! Maybe Kaitlyn would’ve had less trouble with that if she had made the choice to save it for marriage.”

Communication is always tricky, and communicating online is even trickier. As we come to use online communication more and more to spread the gospel, knowing how to effectively communicate will enable you get your thoughts out there and maybe even spread the gospel to a new person.

What awesome ways have you found effective in communicating online? Have any tips or tricks, share below!