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You Don't Always Have To Share A 'Hot Take' On Social Media

Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of deleted tweets after The Slap at the Oscars. Sometimes, it's just best to sit it out.

By Brittany Wong Senior Lifestyle Reporter, HuffPost

HuffPost

 

"It happens like clockwork: Something cataclysmic or unexpected occurs and we all rush online to read the hot takes.

We’re talking big news events here ― “Mass Attentional Events,” as tech journalist Charlie Warzel calls them: That one weird night in October 2020 when Trump tested positive for COVID. Or Russia invading Ukraine last month, dramatically raising the threat of nuclear war. Or Will Smith slapping Chris Rock across the head at the Oscars after Rock joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Before you have a chance to process the event, you’re on Twitter doing a cursory read of all the strident opinions already coalescing on “your side.”

“Should I say something, too?” you wonder. Sure, why not? You come up with something smart-sounding or funny enough, then hit “send.”

“This is edgy,” you think before a little self-doubt starts to creep in. “Maybe a little too edgy? But I only have 238 followers. I can always delete it.”

Then comes that sharp pang of regret and self-reproach.

“Oh, crap, my 238 followers include my boss ... and she just viewed my story.”

Sometimes, that hot take just isn’t worth it. (Especially considering the number of people have who have been fired over bad tweets.) In an era of hyper-connectivity and Extremely Online people, there’s something refreshing ― even noble ― about the person who sits it out and doesn’t post something (or at least takes a beat to process the news before weighing in).

“I tell people: Before firing off a ‘hot take’ on a topic, pause, take a deep breath, and determine whether your comments are likely to create any problems or controversies,” said Evan Nierman, the CEO of Red Banyan, a global crisis communications firm and author of “Crisis Averted: PR Strategies to Protect Your Reputation and the Bottom Line.”

While we’re not suggesting you self-censor, we are imploring people to be a little more thoughtful about what they tweet in the heat of the moment . .

Why do we rush to comment on breaking news or big celebrity gossip?

Simply put, we post because we are social creatures. Opinionated social creatures who want to contact, commiserate and commune with other people using the biggest, baddest megaphone most of us have ever possessed: a Twitter account. (Or Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook ― pick your poison.)

“We want to feel like part of the tribe ― to get a word in and feel intelligent and either support or criticize others inside or outside our tribe,” said Michael Toebe, a reputation consultant and the founder of Reputation Quality.

. . .

Too many of us like to think we’re experts who “do their own research.”

Just because you have a platform like Instagram or Twitter doesn’t mean it’s essential for you to weigh in on every breaking news item, said Jane Austin, the CEO and founder of independent public relations and content company Persuasion Communications, which has offices in New York, London and Paris. . .

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What’s wrong about “centering” ourselves in the conversation?

Inevitably, the hot takes are followed by other hot takes, these from people chastising others for “centering themselves” in a conversation they know little about.

“Westerners, Please Stop With The Memes And Hot Takes On The Ukraine Crisis,” guest writer Charlotte Colombo wrote on HuffPost as Twitter was inundated with Zelenskyy thirst tweets and out-of-depth takes from random people on the threat of nuclear war or the concept of no-fly zones. . .

Instead of rushing to post, rush to read and understand.

Don’t be like the ladies of “The View:” When presented with a hot topic in the news, take the time to educate yourself and ask questions rather than add to the chaos, said Jenna Wigman, the vice president and a partner at Press Kitchen, a PR agency based in Santa Monica and New York. . .

What should you do instead of hastily tweeting?

Instead of rushing to post, rush to read and understand.

Don’t be like the ladies of “The View:” When presented with a hot topic in the news, take the time to educate yourself and ask questions rather than add to the chaos, said Jenna Wigman, the vice president and a partner at Press Kitchen, a PR agency based in Santa Monica and New York.

“Personally, I enjoy healthy debate and discourse with people on timely topics, but I don’t think the internet is an environment in which such discussions can thrive,” Wigman told HuffPost. “When I have questions, I seek out either new sources or friends who are more knowledgable on the subject. Then I take the time to form my own opinions once I have more information.”

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