A simple mindfulness exercise that can reduce emotional reactions, invite breathing, and encourage you to pause before posting.
Social media has made it easy to broadcast our thoughts and feelings far and wide in an instant. At the same time, we often don’t consider the large number of people who will read what we share. How many friends do you have on social media? 300 to 400? 500 plus? How often do you really pause before posting?
When emotions are at a fever pitch, there isn’t a lot of high-speed, face-to-face communication. This can be especially difficult for teenagers, because of their motivation.
“Adolescents are biologically more likely to make decisions that aren’t thought through,” says Tristan Gorindo, a child and adolescent psychologist at The Ross Center in Washington, DC.
For teens and adults alike, it’s all too easy for a moment of heightened emotion to result in a heated argument, bullying, or simply saying something that lives on forever and is deeply regrettable.
Gorrindo has created a practice called WAIT, designed with teenagers in mind (but perfect for anyone living in today’s digital world). Here are 4 questions to ask yourself before posting:
W = Wide audience
“Shall I say this in front of the school assembly?” (If you’re grown up, imagine your entire office.)
A = Affect.
“Am I in a good emotional place right now?”
I = intention
“Could my intentions be misunderstood?”
T = Today
“Today, tomorrow, or the next day? Can it wait a day?”
Assessing the urgency of what we are about to say can provide a helpful injection of perspective. Why is this so important? What if you took a breath and stopped before you posted? And if you wait, will you feel differently about it later?
