Have you been spending time online reading articles and posts? If yes, you have been targeted by online and social media marketing.

I have heard many people talking lately about being angry, reactive and amped up before and since the election. People are having conflicts with perfect strangers. Spiritually, we need to handle this in a different and more healthy way.

The potential trap of social media marketing

There is a product software developers have been using for a while on social media sites like Facebook. This program is the reason why what you’ve just browsed for shows up on Facebook. This type of program is also what predicts suggested posts for you. You know what I’m talking about. This is how after you scroll through a few people’s updates there are suggested posts. Or if you glance over on the right side of your Facebook page you see the shoes you were just eyeing on Amazon. Creepy? Yes. But brilliant marketing.

These social media sites and online sites are giving you exactly what (they predict) you want to see. This includes the news stories you see.

If you are getting your news from social media or any one news source, you probably aren’t getting the whole story. And often, especially recently, you are getting articles that have not been verified as fact. At best they could be biased and could even be totally false.

You react!

Ok, so keeping all of this in mind… now you happen to see someone with different view points pop up in your news feed because they shared or liked a particular post. This is the first time you’ve seen the information distributed in this way and you are furious! So you feel like you want to blast ’em and tell them what you really think AND what they should be thinking, too.

Or maybe you have seen this before but it is counter to what your news source says is real. So you tell them exactly what you think. Or you just disagree and are feeling pissy. So you blast ’em. Perhaps you are enjoying getting a reaction from people, so you troll the people you know who have different views than you.

Enough already.

This isn’t productive. Behaving in this way doesn’t help your relationships. It doesn’t help you be informed. Acting in this way does make you a change agent.

Five spiritual ways to be an agent of change

• Know when you need a break and turn off the media. This could mean social media or the television. You are a sensitive person or you wouldn’t have been drawn to this blog. The media is extraordinarily harsh right now. Sometimes, that energy just gets to be too much. Give yourself permission to take a break.
• Get your news from more than one source. Make sure your news is reliable and that the report is as unbiased as possible. Knowing we are all human, including news reporters, there will be some bias. But getting your news from more than once source will help that. OpEds are opinion pieces. This means that they are someone’s opinion. While they may be based in fact, they are still someone’s opinion.
• Get your news from reputable sources. Use discernment. I don’t feel comfortable telling you where you should get your news. Make sure your news is coming from a reporter. Additionally, if your news source is telling you to hate anyone, your news source is biased and you might consider a new source for your information. You want your news to be as impartial as possible. There is signifiant social media marketing being done right now. Remember that just because someone has something to sell (an idea, a way of seeing the world or a product) doesn’t mean you have to buy it.
• Recognize that the other person is you. The person you are angry with is someone’s mom, dad, brother, sister, daughter, son or friend. I know there are a lot of major issues that need discussion in our current climate. Kindness, respect and compassion are still a must.
• Focus on more of what you want. The Law of Attraction is absolute and works every time. If you want more love and peace in the world – that is where your focus needs to be. Yes, you can take issue with what’s happening. Keep your focus on what you want.

I hope this has served you. If you like it, please click “like” or consider sharing. My mission is to spread love and light far and wide. Each time you like or share, you are helping. And I am grateful. #bethelight

All my love,

Brenda