Being able to post pictures or tweet feelings as quickly as they occur can certainly cause trouble and is often the cause of PR nightmares. That being said, how much is too much? Is there a line that shouldn't be crossed when posting personal pictures or feelings? Who decides what is okay and what isn't -- the people doing the posting or the person seeing the post? And finally, do different people have to operate under a different set of expectations?
There are clearly more questions that can be asked about such a controversial topic, but the previously mentioned are a good starting point.
Issues like these come up quite frequently with the growing popularity of sites like Twitter and Instagram. Media outlets jump at the opportunity to highlight a lapse in judgment from those in the spotlight, and the attention can be quite harsh. Obviously, it is a good idea to think posts through before making them public, but should the "offenders" receive so much flack for acting on impulse?
Nearly everyone has experienced instant remorse following the posting of a picture or tweet that may have been "too much," but fortunately, most are able to delete the evidence before many people see it. The same can't be said for certain A-listers, like Liam Payne of One Direction, Chris Brown and Rihanna. In recent months, the previously mentioned have shared personal feelings or photos that may have been impulsive, but due to their status, the posts have been immortalized in the Internet community.
Regardless of any regret that may have followed Liam's tweet about a certain building's security, or Chris Brown and Rihanna's Instagram photo loaded with implications, the posts were seen, judged and discussed before they could even think twice. But is this really fair? Just because certain individuals have more people watching them, does this mean they should have a different set of rules? Should they not be allowed to make mistakes like those who have fewer followers?
As we see it, people are people. Mistakes are going to happen, and we understand that emotions can lead to impulsive decisions that may later be regretted. Because of this, we don't think it is fair to judge a person or a group of people based on an incident caused by a quick post.
Instead, we find it more appropriate to form our opinion based on everything the person or group has done, and what they stand for. In doing so, a more complete picture can be painted that allows a better view of who the person behind the keyboard really is.
I think we understand this dynamic more so because we are in a group. We leave room for each other to play the "hot head" from time to time, so please keep that in mind if one of us tweets something less than perfect!
