kimkenobee

Pedro Pascal in Triple Frontier

🐝 we are the content we consume

adding onto the conversation occurring within this community, it is also important to remember: we all have a collective responsibility to consider what we share and how our actions affect others, whether it may be directly or indirectly.

everything from what we choose to reblog to the content we choose to consume matters. because we have a choice to choose what we consume. briar doesn’t have that choice.

from the moment briar was born, so was her digital footprint. everything from articles announcing her birth, to vile online threats on her mother’s safety and welfare, has her name attached to it.

briar doesn’t have a choice. her digital footprint was created the moment she was born, while others was created when we chose to create a social media account.

if briar doesn’t have a choice, then she doesn’t have a voice either. she is eleven years old and has barely experienced the world while strangers online are tearing her family apart.

briar is also coming of age. she is growing into herself, finding her passions, exploring new interests, and is at the stage of her life where she is most likely beginning to explore social media too.

while her friends at school might barely have a digital footprint (except for what could be their parents’ embarrassing Facebook photo collection), briar currently has three hundred and eighty-nine thousand search results in her name.

that’s just for her name alone.

this includes the countless discussions occurring across social media, with the baseless claims of false paternity, the multiple photos of her that have been dissected and compared next to other children, and the ongoing threats to her mother.

this also includes our reblogs, the hashtags we use, the posts we choose to like, the people we choose to follow (with their beliefs, values and perspectives), the words we write on our blogs or on our other social media pages, and the content we choose to share and consume daily.

of course, this is in no way intended to point fingers at anyone — that would never be my intention.

however, as cheesy as it sounds, it’s up to us to make a difference. not individually, collectively.

in our own time, if we ever come across content that harms ourselves or others, we take our own steps to report, delete and block (if preferred/when it’s absolutely necessary).

the same should also apply within fandoms and communities too: report, delete, block.

if it’s a direct threat against someone’s safety and welfare (or to their life directly), screenshot and report it immediately, whether that may be to the social media platform or to the local authorities.

a threat is a threat.

briar is now coming of age and may be beginning to explore the internet, her digital footprint, and social media either by herself or with her friends. she may not always have her parents by her side, or watching over her shoulder while she scrolls.

the next time you consider reblogging, liking a post, or following someone’s account, consider:

is this [insert content here] or [insert account here] actively contributing to and/or harming myself or others, including briar, hayden, rachel, and/or their extended family or friends in any shape or form?

if the answer is yes, then it’s not worth it. the online activity we see and interact with will be the same online activity that an eleven year old exploring the internet and discovering her place in the world will also see, either by herself or with her friends.

stop. think. decide.

it’s up to me, it’s up to you, it’s up to us.