Food For Thought

Vocabulary time!
Food for thought: something that warrants serious consideration. 

But when you hear this phrase, what do you really think it means? I asked my friends on Facebook. I got a few sarcastic/funny responses, but there were a few that I got that hit it right on the nose: 

Something to think about. 

A fact or idea that stimulates thought process.
Something you read that gets you thinking about improving society and/or yourself.
Something someone tells you to think about. 

From the definitions, it is very clear what the phrase "food for thought" means. 

So why is it that we as a society have to open our big online mouths even when we see a phrase even similar to "food for thought"? Why can't we just think about what has been said and keep our opinions and thoughts to ourselves? 

Why is it that we feel so comfortable saying whatever we wish online but, if the exact situation was presented in person, we would clam up and not say it? It's because when we are online we are never literally faced with the hurt that we may cause. Online we "can be anyone we want to be and do whatever we want to do," as some people may think. When we are all online, we don't regard others' feelings. When we are online, we forget that the other people who are also online are also human. We become robots. We disregard the needs and wants of those we virtually interact with. We think we become "courageous" and "brave" when we are online. We really become vile, mean, and cruel. 

Whatever happened to "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all"? When did people become so mean, especially online? What happened to think about others and their feelings before saying anything? I know that this life can be hard and cruel, but that's only because we have let ourselves become hard and cruel and mean. Why did we let that happen? Why can't we change back to the kind and caring people we should be? 

I want to put a challenge out there. Not everyone out there on the internet is looking to start a debate. Not everyone out there is looking for others' opinions. Not everyone is looking for an answer/comment/remark. Here's the challenge:

N also stands for Necessary. If it's not necessary to post, don't post it.

Let's make this world better one post, comment, status, tweet, etc. at a time. Be the better you that you can be. Or in lame-man terms: "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all". Don't look to one up or be "high and mighty". Be helpful. If you can't do that, don't do anything. Let's respect other's wishes and if you read "food for thought," just think about what they have to say. Keyword: think.