When I was growing up, we constantly heard “If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.” Now, roughly three decades later we often react to things before thinking. We comment, either using technology or in person, before we have all the information. It is easy to do and I believe we have all done this countless times. However, once you reacted... you can’t undo the impact made; even if you edited/deleted the comment and even apologized. The remarks can and will still leave a lasting impression on those they were directed to.
But, what led us to jump to the quick responses? We could easily blame the shift of civil discourse on politics, generational changes or simply changes in technology. I believe that something that lead to the unraveling was when we were pushed to react on Facebook, instead of responding or simply scrolling on.
