thoughts on: “if you don’t like it, unfollow”

This attitude has always kind of bugged me, and I think I finally figured out why. It’s a way of not taking responsibility for your actions, and of outright refusing criticism or considering other viewpoints.

When your first response to someone disagreeing with you/something you posted is to say, “If you don’t like it, unfollow me,” I think you’re missing out on a moment of self-development. You’re being close-minded to another person’s ideas and experiences, and may or may not be making an ass out of yourself in the process. Chances are, they don’t want to unfollow you, or else they would have done so and not bothered to come to you with their complaint. When you then tell them to unfollow you, you’re basically throwing it back in their face. And while I can understand that it probably feels pretty good to throw things back in somebody’s face when they’ve pissed you off, it’s not a very mature thing to do, and you’re hurting yourself as much as somebody else.

Followers, in a weird way, make you accountable to your own behavior. No, it’s not your job to please everybody; but if you mess up, suddenly there’s people who are going to notice and point it out to you. Is there anything really wrong with that? When it’s trolls and rude people, yeah, there’s a bit of an issue. But that’s what friends and acquaintances are supposed to do, and that’s what SOCIETY is supposed to do—regulate your behavior to an acceptable societal norm.

There’s definitely some instances where you can say, “I’m sorry you feel that way, if it bothers you that much, you may have to unfollow me,” but it really disappoints me when people use that as a gut reaction. If it comes to it, say it, but you ought to take a few moments to read and think about the issue that prompted it. Were you really in the right? Was there a better way you could have handled yourself? Are you willing to try modifying your behavior now that it’s been brought to your attention? It’s always worth considering, even if your conclusion is, “No, can’t help you, go ahead and unfollow me.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I’d always rather hear a different side of view and have a discussion rather than miss out on a follower or friend just because we didn’t share the same opinion. Please, don’t unfollow me—if you don’t like it, let me know why, and maybe we can come to an agreement.