"Opinions are like stomach gas. Sometimes you need to keep it to yourself!" - Futurist Jim Carroll
Way back in January 2022, as some series of ongoing madness unfolded around the pandemic, I wrote my "Social Media Serenity Prayer" - "Grant me the maturity to understand the things I should not post, the insight to share the things I should, and the wisdom to quickly know the difference!"
A lot is going on in the world right now, and this might be a good time to once again share this wise counsel. After all, what's the upside in rushing into things, at least in the short term? Volatility will rage for some time, uncertainty will rule, and megaphones will blare.
That's why I wrote this at the time:
"I try to work hard to keep my opinions to myself. As a futurist, I'm on the side of facts, in a world in which for many people, facts don't matter - agendas do."
Borrowing from what I said then, and given what I do (I have a social media presence - Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, and Instagram) I share insights on trends, innovation, creativity, and things that capture my mind. But at every moment that I consume media, I often feel obliged to post to it. I also know that it's not a good idea to do that if you find yourself bubbling with rage, consumed with incredulity, or struggling with disbelief at what you see. Like many, I often want to lash out, respond, and try to set things straight.
And often, to my credit, I don't.
I've come to the point that I am still learning not to engage, debate, negotiate, or get into a squabble with many of the views that now permeate our online world. There is no upside. (Even so, I will admit I haven't done a great job at managing my online presence over the years.) But given how volatile the current reality is, I've been doubling down on my effort to avoid posting, desperately trying to remind myself there is no upside other than a momentary moment of relief might come from an angry post or a posting of snark.
And so, I've come to think about the elements of action behind what I call my Social Media Serenity Prayer action plan:
- Does the post fit with what I do with my business
- Could the post do me damage?
- What would my family say should I post it?
- Should I find some other way to deal with my frustration?
- Is this something I would say in a room full of people I don't know?
- What is the likelihood that what I post might come back to haunt me?
- What is the actual purpose other than letting me manage my emotions?
- What might what I post today look like five years from now?
- Have I thought about how I should pause and think before I post something?
- Will others learn anything from what I post?
- Does anyone care?
- Might it be more harm than good?
- What good will it do me?
- What harm might it do?
- How does this affect my brand?
- What purpose would it serve other than letting me let off some steam?
- Does it make me look like a flaming idiot?
- What impact will the post have on the work I do as a futurist?
Even so, I know that there are moments in which we do need to speak up, and those will come. I've just had a client who has booked me for an event in March 2025 asked me how I might take on the question of how the future has changed as a result of recent events. Given that they are in the insurance industry, I have definite thoughts - we will likely see an acceleration of volatile weather patterns as a pullback of climate change efforts occurs, leading to more violent storms, leading to greater insurance losses, increasing the number of geographic regions that simply become uninsurable. There's just too much of an increase in risk - but hey, insurance companies already know that.
I'll figure out how to approach that topic and that issue - I just don't need to rush into it right now - and don't need to go wild online with my thoughts. Particularly with some emotionally driven posts.
And so as I think these things, I manage to avoid posting a lot of my reactive instinct.
It's a challenging world. Sometimes, we should keep our opinions to ourselves.
Just like stomach gas.
Futurist Jim Carroll has been online for 42 years. He knows that during that time he has sometimes said things that he has later come to regret.