In the current world, social media plays a huge part in a lot of our lives. We use social media to share funny pictures, hilarious videos and updates on our lives. However, when we express our opinion on a social issue, some come under fire for having an opinion that is different from everyone else. Social media platforms have turned into battle grounds between people of differentiating political, religious and social-economical views.

Current hot topics on social media today are the 2016 election, LGBT rights and the Black Lives Matter movement. These are some of the topics that have been tweeted, posted and re-blogged across the different platforms of social media.

In wake of the election, many people are backing either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. However, when the topic of discussion of whether either candidate is better for our country, level-headed and calm conversation turns into a shouting match. Many people that were anti-Trump would post, “If you support Trump, you can unfollow/unfriend me.” But why would I want to unfriend someone that has different opinion than I do? Just because someone supports Trump, it doesn’t mean the person believes every political idea that he backs or proposes. The same thing goes for Clinton. When I think of having a conversation about the election, I have to step back and carefully choose my words because I don’t want to offend someone that has an opposing opinion. But it shouldn’t be that way. I should be able to express my opinion freely without having to worry about backlash.

The shootings in Baton Rouge and Minnesota have rekindled the spark of the Black Lives Matter movement. In both incidents, a black male was shot by a white police officer. Videos of each shooting has surfaced and has been shared across many social media platforms. A lot of people have been calling for reform and using the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter. Many people have posted their feelings and expressed their emotions about what happened to the men that lost their lives. As many stood behind Black Lives Matter, many others stood behind All Lives Matter. This brought about a social media firestorm once again. Many people wanted to shed the light on the tough subject of police brutality as videos have surfaced showing that exact thing happening to minorities. Some like Vine star Sarah Schauer tried to relate to what minorities go through when they are stopped by police. She expressed her opinion as to how she can relate to how black individuals feel in police situations. She tweeted her opinion because she wanted to open herself up and relate to blacks and to understand how they felt. When she did, her tweet was quoted and she was made to seem like she didn’t know what she was talking about and that she couldn’t relate to what black individuals were going through. She was made to believe that she was making the situation about herself. She was bashed for her own opinion. Sarah wasn’t trying to make the situation about herself; she was trying to relate because she saw what black individuals were going though.

Your opinion matters. But if your opinion is contrary to popular belief or if it can be mistaken, your opinion doesn’t matter.

That needs to change. If we continually bash others for having a different opinion, we miss out on the opportunity to educate others. We should learn to converse in a way that inspires education and enlightenment. Fighting about which side is justified is only driving us apart more when we should be uniting together as one. Your opinion does matter.