Characters of the Comment Section

There are certifiable characters of the comment section.  They lurk on every social media platform that exists. 

“Drop a thought in the comment section below.”  A strategy to generate engagement with written content.  It’s an opportunity for people to provide their feedback on a particular topic.  The comment section provokes thoughts and reactions. 

Characters of the Comment Section

I have to admit, I am guilty of being pulled into the comment section to check in on the conversation!  Not even from a learning perspective, but to enjoy the dynamics of the dysfunction!  It can be a fascinating place to view the characters of the comment section at work.

When scrolling through social media, there is always that one post that distracts my attention.  It deviates me off the path of good and into the bad of the keyboard culture. 

The comment section is where you find some interesting characters.  Characters such as the political partisan, the often offended, the classically clueless, the antagonistic agitator, and the constant critic pounce on every topic of discussion.  It’s their domain!       

Here is a breakdown of the five characters:

Political Partisan

These are the people who can turn any post into a political debate.  You will find them somewhere between the extreme of their party and border line crazy.  They are blind to any perspective other than the one that aligns with the talking points of a party’s particular beliefs.  Rarely do they have a unique perspective that differs from that script, it’s etched in stone. 

Often Offended

These characters have become frequent flyers in the comment section.  They can find a way to be offended by anything…literally anything.  The opportunities are endless for them to take a post with the best of intentions and dismantle it with the slightest oversensitivity.

Rarely can they provide good reason why, they just want to be offended.    

Classically Clueless

These are the people that utilize homeowner association group pages, Ring doorbell groups, Nextdoor, and other social media platforms to showcase their cluelessness.  The ones that pose a question to random strangers that can easily be found through a Google search.  What is the phone number to their cable provider?  How far of a drive is it to their vacation destination?  What time does a particular business close? Is anyone else’s internet slow?   

They report loud noises, suspicious people, or seek clarification to legal questions to the “experts” in the comment section, rather than the proper authorities. 

Antagonistic Agitators 

These characters can be hard to identify.  They can be camouflaged as any of the other characters.  We must pay close attention. 

They are separated by their intentions.  Their intentions aren’t necessarily malicious.  Sometimes they can be super funny!  At times, we can live vicariously through them.  Wishing we would have thought of something so creative to create conflict! 

They don’t necessarily believe everything they are posting.  Their mission is to stir the pot.  They seek out the vulnerable…the political partisan, the often offended, or the classically clueless in the thread and go to work.  They feed off those who are willing to take the bait and engage.        

Constant Critic

These Haters thrive in the environment of comment sections.  You find them criticizing the places they eat, hospitality establishments, their neighbors, other drivers, governments, and any topic that introduces any element of change. 

If you’ve seen them comment critically once, don’t worry, there are numerous other threads throughout the world wide web that are laced with their constant criticism.  These constantly critical characters are negative, pessimistic, toxic, demeaning, hateful, and dwell not only in the comment section, but in their own misery.     

Conclusion

So where is the leadership lesson in all of this?  Hang in there with me for just a second.  While this is a little bit lighter than normal post, don’t miss this critically important leadership lesson to come.

Several years ago, our leadership team was having a discussion on a book we were reading.  The book was the Energy Bus.  In it, the author, Jon Gordon teaches the power of positivity in leadership.  He introduces the concept of an Energy Vampire, those people that suck the life out of the organization. 

As a group, we were on our high horses.  Perched up on our pedestals talking about all the negative people that our lives had intersected with in our journeys.

Then, one of our leaders spoke up.  He reminded the group that the author wrote the book for us, not them.  Essentially, we needed to take a deep look into The Mirror.  The reflection we see is the one that needs to process the content.  OUR behavior is the only one within OUR realm of control. 

So, the next time WE have the urge to be any of these characters…don’t.  Just DROP the comment period.  Don’t do it. 

Our posts possess power.  They either tear others down or build them up.  Comments can create destructive debate, or productive dialogue.  We choose.    

Our opinions divide people, not close the gap.  Maybe the next time we have that itch, drop some thoughts of encouragement, thoughts of gratitude, thoughts of positivity, or thoughts of celebration. 

Leadership is bettering others and the worlds that we live in.  Start using the comment section to do just that.