I’m Karen Geiger and I’m a consultant in leadership development. I did my dissertation on how white and black women navigate race as they work for social justice.
Why do you think it is effective for people to engage in dialogue using social media?
What I think social media does, which I learned in my doctoral work is that sometimes it’s useful to read something that’s very uncomfortable in the privacy of your own home. You can have your discomfort and manage and explore it personally. If you are with other people then you have to put on your face and respond in some way that might not be authentic or might be defensive. This way you can read it and digest it yourself. I think that is very useful.
What are your concerns about social media?
In this country what I worry about with social media is we talk online with people we agree with. The algorithms probably feed that. We don’t ask questions on social media. We put out statements. It can be good for people to see those statements. But, what’s the curiosity that comes? I don’t see a lot of that. I try to do that myself, but it’s not a trend.
What is a trigger?
A trigger is something that hooks what I call a nonproductive response. It is real for you. Defensiveness, anger, and guilt is anything that triggers that. I think it’s important for people to notice what the trigger was and then what their response to it was.