Sometimes, Words Backfires.

Social media has given almost every individual a voice, which is a good boost for exercising our freedom of speech since it allows individuals to express themselves freely, share their perspectives, and most importantly connect with people who have similar perspectives in different parts of the world. Using the social media is easy and since there are no laws restricting us from using it, we all do as we wish in the social space.

It used to be a safe space about a decade ago but things have taken a different shape. A lot of people have stepped up their game using the social media but one thing hasn't changed and that's airing your thoughts, ideas and opinions effortlessly.

This freedom we have using the social media now appears quite complicated because of the types of content you see online these days. People go all out doing personal things infringing on others' rights while there are those who don't infringe on rights and yet, their content will make you ask questions.

While we feel like the social media is a safe space, I believe we all know there are consequences that come with the kind of things we publish. I tell people that the things we publish, other people's content we share, and the comments we make is a huge reflection of not just us but the environment we live in, the family we come from, people we associate ourselves with, our place of worship, work, and a lot more so the things we do in that space isn't just about us.

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In response to the Hive Learner prompt, I believe it's not very easy to weigh the consequences of sharing our thoughts and opinions on social media especially when we aren't infringing on others' rights but the reality today is that the things we say or do online can affect us in unexpected ways.

I remember the case of one Major General Adeniyi who recorded a situation report video that exposed the incompetence of the government in empowering the Nigerian soldiers. During that time, they had a severe confrontation that led to numerous casualties because the bandits had more sophisticated weapons than the Nigerian soldiers. While some people believed it was a leaked video, there were those who insisted that the General intentionally did that to expose the government.

Regardless of how it happened, he had to face the wrath of the law because posting a situation report on social media while a combat is on is against the Nigerian military ethics and values. He has the right to exercise his freedom of speech, expressing his concerns about his troops suffering in the front line but it ends up putting him in serious trouble.

To be fair and honest, he hasn't done anything wrong in my perspective but to the military, he has broken a rule and it came with severe punishment.

Seeing people get into trouble because of the things they published on their respective social media pages doesn't sit well with me to an extent because it's like restricting other people from freely exercising their rights. It can be annoying knowing that whether we are right or wrong with our opinions, someone could still come for our head.

On the other hand, there are some content that can be justified when it backfires now or later. A lot of time, we let our emotions get the best of us when judging cases but if we look deeply, some things aren't just right.

Let's imagine you own a company and employed someone who came searching for a job. After a few years, you stumbled on the person's post on a particular social app condemning your company. It was a long time ago but for me it doesn't change anything.

If the company decides to dismiss such a person, we would condemn them and it's always like that because we aren't the victims. A lot of us will see things differently if it's our company or organization that's at risk here.

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While I feel that some situations regarding this topic are unfair, there are those that are justified. While exercising our rights and freedom, it’s important that we are very careful too. There should be a limit to things, we must not lose our grip on moderation so we don’t end up unknowingly jeopardizing our lives too.

_{All Image Are Mine.}