Just Because You Can Say Something, Does Not Mean That You Have To

During Olympic coverage for the BBC, a reporter appeared on camera in a skirt that stopped well above her knees, and in typical fashion, social media went crazy with the debate over whether or not her skirt was appropriate. This event was a reminder of the Republican National Convention and reporter Megan Kelly’s “thin-strapped” top. Once again, social media was set ablaze with comments, and the world was divided with their opinions, as the issue became less about the outfits and more about the opinions.

What social media has done is provided everyone who has the ability to type or text an outlet to voice their opinions on any and everything, and that includes this blog. However, just because everyone has, and is entitled to an opinion, does not mean that they all need to be heard, especially regarding topics of what a reporter wears on television with all of the celebutantes posting nude or semi-nude pictures on the internet seemingly every day.

Social media is a mechanism whereby people can say whatever they want while allowing the world into their innermost thoughts and feelings. There have been stories of people falling victim to great personal harm because of their persistent need to let the world know what they were doing and thinking. Nevertheless, just because we have the right and ability to say something, this does not mean that we are obligated to.

Surely, we all have something more important to be concerned with than what a reporter is wearing during the broadcast of a sporting event near water in a humid country. It would seem that, during an event teeming with nationalism, every viewer would be more concerned with the opportunities for their home country to accumulate victories. Here, just as at the RNC, seemingly, viewers would be more concerned with the message than with how the messenger is dressed, and there were plenty of comments on the events as well.

I am not saying that people should not be able to voice their opinions, or voice them publicly, because after all, what would I do for a living? However, when the top trending topic on Twitter is the length of a female reporter’s skirt during a summer afternoon in Brazil, it would seem that social media has allowed events like the Olympics and the Political Conventions to be reduced to superficial topics such as outfits that seem inappropriate to some while sexually arousing others. Maybe we should think before we tweet.