For those of you who don't know, being petty, or making things, events, or actions normal people dismiss as trivial or insignificant into excuses to be upset, uncooperative, childish, or stubborn, has become a trend.
Though I do not know how this trend began, I know that it has taken a toll on a majority of the relationship and friendships I have been a part of as well as people's relationships as far as I could see across the internet and social media.
I have grown increasingly tired of scrolling through my Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook feeds to see people bragging about being petty, or even being petty. Some people seem to find it fun to put others down and exploit them across cyberspace and I have no idea how people could be this childish.
Yes, I do understand that there is a time and a place to be petty in some situations. I am not living other people's lives so maybe I don't know the full story. However, it comes to a point where I believe that if pettiness is all I'm seeing and experiencing across social media, people are definitely taking it too far.
Most people act in a petty manner to get a rise, or a desired emotion, out of another person, while typically most normal people try to brush it aside and/or do not even notice the pettiness. They remain unaffected and people end up wasting their time and energy.
Being petty is not cute, it is not admirable and it does not make you cool by any means. People should try to be honest and upfront with people about their issues instead of defending and increasing their pettiness.
When people act petty online, they really just show their true colors. They make themselves look like they crave dramatic lifestyles and attention and most people do not want to associate with those living for constant conflict.
Personally, I like to live by the rule of not saying something online or via text that I wouldn't say to somebody face to face. I know that taking my problems to social media won't change anything, an unfollow or a negative comment will probably not affect anything.
People tend to forget that there is another person on the other end reading our texts and our tweets. We also tend to forget that people can screenshot anything these days, which is another reason we should be more mindful and less petty about what we say or do across social media.
Before resulting in social media to express pettiness, take a step back and try to contact the people involved directly instead of taking shots at them on a public platform. The world would just be a much pleasant place if we could all be nice to one another instead of taking our personal issues to the internet like middle schoolers tend to.
Ending on a more positive note, let's all try to remember that being nice and being forgiving is healthy. Let's try to not hold grudges, or to be immature thinking the world owes us something. Instead, let's do something productive with our lives. I promise this will lead to living better lives and having stronger friendships and relationships.
