Voir dire is a process where prospective jurors are questioned for suitability to serve on a particular trial. Attorneys ask questions, some pretty personal, and jurors respond.
I found myself going through this process during my recent jury duty. I knew that the process was public, but the audience was only the people who were in the courtroom at that time.
Yet there, clicking away at the front of the room is the court recorder, typing and archiving every word that is being shared during Voir dire. In the old days, these files were on paper, now they are digital and searchable, out there for all to search and read. Once we said it, it was out there forever.
Sitting in a courtroom and engaging with a back and forth with an attorney, it is easy to forget that the quiet, innocuous person typing away is archiving that conversation, making that discussion searchable and spreadable well beyond the courtroom. The longer we were in that courtroom the less we thought about the court reporter, in fact she became almost invisible to us.
I think that social media is a lot like that court reporter. When we use social media we tend to forget that we are using a public media that is searchable, spreadable and never goes away. The more we use it, the less we notice that it is public not private.
Want to try an experiment?
The next time you post share something via social media, think about that almost invisible court reporter typing away. See if it causes you to pause a bit before you post.
I had the opportunity to go through the Voir dire process twice. I was actually selected to take part in a criminal trial and a civil trial which were both very interesting experiences! I do remember the court reporter being present. To be honest I didn’t give it much thought at the time. Especially to your point of everything said in that room being recorded and saved as a part of a permanent record. It is correct in saying we often get comfortable sharing things about our personal lives, or maybe opinions on hot button topics not thinking about how that is ultimately something that could be retrieved many years later. We can find ourselves getting complacent with what we are putting our there. A great reminder to think twice before posting or hitting that send button.
WOW,..that is a great analogy! We think of our audience who receives our text and we think of the computer, keyboard and platform an innocuous tool but in reality it is VERY much like a live reporter taking in everything we type. That’s deep Dr. Tim!
I will definitely share that analogy with some high school students and get their reaction. I’m sure it’ll sink in for all but 20 minutes, and then they’ll brush it aside LOL.
This reminds me of something a former administrator used to say to our staff when talking about sending emails or sharing information electronically. He always encouraged us to think first: is it something that you’d be comfortable with being on the front page of the newspaper? I still consider that when I’m typing an email. Sometimes I pause and reconsider that perhaps it is best to share that information in person, rather than electronically. Knowing that something is in print and archived forever causes you to realize its permanency. It’s another good reminder about what we post on social media. It’s there forever.
I have learned through experience to write sensitive emails and save them as drafts for at least a day to review and reread before sending. I agree that “pause” is smart practice.
I LOVE this analogy!! And I agree with all above. It is easy when we are sitting in front of our computers or posting things from our phones to think we are controlling the audience, and clearly, we are not.
As great as all of this technology can be (and it is!), this is the scary part. As a school counselor, I struggle with how best to deliver this message to the students with which I work, and MAKE IT STICK! Unless they have had a negative experience themselves, it is hard to get them to realize this concept. The sense of anonymity that accompanies social media is scary and gives people the security to “hit send” before they really think it through!
What a great analogy! I will definitely share this with my high school and middle school daughters. I know they don’t think about the fact that social media is searchable, spreadable and never goes away. I am hoping that this story will make them think twice before hitting send or posting a comment or picture. I know it is something that will make me think before sending something I may regret in the future. Like Caroline, I too have learned to save sensitive emails and think twice about the consequences of sending them. I think it is important to remind our young people the value of this lesson as well.
I like that analogy…it is better than the one I have always repeated…”would you stand in the middle of the football field at half-time and say that?”…because your analogy goes beyond just the audience at that particular moment–who is all they are thinking about at the time. It is also making them aware that the audience can be anyone throughout a lifetime with an impact like a written document…they are making a digital personal transcript of themselves and everything they post can be retrieved/viewed like someone going through your cum file at school… students only want us to send the best about you to colleges/universities…and they need to view what they post as significant as developing their own cum file of them as a person.