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By LAUREN SEXTON | Sports Reporter

We are so fortunate to live in a time where we have easy access to stories at any given moment in time. We are able to keep everyone in the loop, give out information, receive information, and voice our opinions on all these incredible platforms. However, over time we have seen an increase in cyberbullying not only in children and teenagers who have never lived in a world without the internet but older generations as well. With this being the start of a brand new year, maybe it’s time to recognize that we are all human beings and be kinder to one another.

Behind every story told is someone who is telling someone else’s story. There are people behind every word that is written, every photo that is taken, and even video filmed. Why should we continue to attack people for their stories or storytelling? While people might not know what to read or hear everyone’s story, they have the opportunity to choose and not read it. That’s the wonderful thing about being human, you have choices. But some people decide to make the choice and be truly awful about it. Why be mean? There are incredible stories being told from a local level all the way up to a national level. Although some stories might not inspire you, they could inspire others. So why bring people down?

Errors are a major part of life. No one is perfect and that is clear as day. There are going to be spelling errors, video glitches, blurry photos, and grammatical errors every once in a while. Stats might be put in wrong or addresses might be incorrect, but instead of trolling someone for mistakes anyone can make, why not help and find a solution? 

Everyone has something in common. Storytellers and subjects are not too different from the people who are reading those stories. They’re someone’s daughter, son, wife, husband, cousin and so on. There’s a connection between everyone, we all have that one thing that doesn’t make us so different. Why would you want to attack someone’s son or daughter? Imagine if that happens to your child or you at that age. We all go through life trying to make a name for ourselves, we need to recognize that there is a middle ground that all people have in common.

Staying hidden behind a screen is something everyone can do. Sitting in judgment, while others put themselves out there is something to easily be envious of. Maybe in this modern age that is just bursting at the seams with social media platforms, we start to be kinder to one another. Remember the name behind every story being told and remind ourselves that we are all human. It is easy to make any number of mistakes, but maybe we try to refrain from making the mistake of being harmful to one another as we hide behind our screens. There is an answer to every problem and a solution not too far behind.