If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
That old “rule” seems to be forgotten on social media.
It seems like negative, divisive, and/or false information is posted or shared much more than positive or uplifting content.
You know what I mean.
The same few people who constantly produce posts that are either bashing one political party, sharing false information or generally complaining about something.
Maybe that’s why one recent post made such an impression on many people.
I was looking through Facebook on a Saturday morning and came across a post about the Luverne at Windom boys’ hockey game the night before.
It appeared to be from a Windom fan or parent.
I expected something negative.
And I was totally wrong.
It turns out, the lengthy and heartwarming post was about a positive experience the author witnessed after the game.
And it was all thanks to the actions of a Luverne player, goalie Shaid Shearer.
The Windom mom noticed that, after losing to Windom in the last regular-season game of his senior season, Shaid skated over to congratulate the Eagle players on their win.
The author was profoundly moved by this gesture of sportsmanship by Shaid.
To paraphrase the post, she wrote that she could not stop thinking about how selfless his actions were and how much Shaid’s display of sportsmanship meant to her.
She went on to share how this experience reminded her how valuable high school sports can be and how the emotional moment brought her to tears.
She even wrote of how she was so moved that she sought out Shaid’s mom after the game and even stood outside the Luverne locker room waiting to thank the Cardinal goalie for his actions.
After reading this post, I felt really good.
I felt good for Shaid, for his parents, and for this Windom parent who was so moved that she typed such a positive post and shared it with the world.
I also thought of how Shaid’s sportsmanship, the impact it had on this parent and her willingness to share it, had all taught me something.
I also reflected on how much I enjoy being a fan of high school sports and how blessed I am to work with so many kids like Shaid every day as a teacher.
And all of this because of a post from a random stranger whom I will never meet.
Just imagine if more social media posts could have such a positive impact on others.
What if more people typed uplifting words that made others feel proud and grateful, instead of negative or resentful?
What if we could all show the kind of sportsmanship online that was demonstrated by both Shaid and the Windom mom?
Maybe it's time for a modern version of the old rule:
If you don’t have anything nice to post, don’t post anything at all. … But if you can say (or post) something nice, by all means, please do.