Rishi Ram Paudyal

Facebook is a very popular and powerful networking site and it appears to be prudent to think twice before we comment on others’ Facebook walls. Every person has their privacy and prestige. Nobody likes being commented negatively. Every person has their own family, circles of friends, relatives and other people. Whatever the number may be, every person may feel they have a big audience. Especially people in authority should be very careful while commenting on others who are working under them. They may be boss in their office but not on others’ Facebook walls. Every Facebook account holder is the boss for themselves. The authority should understand and comment carefully if they feel they are obliged to without hampering the prestige and privacy of their subordinates.

In the same way, teachers and professors may think that they are always teachers over their students and comment on their students’ Facebook walls as if they were the students’ bosses and that they must comment something. They should leave their teachers’ hats in their own institutions and comment carefully if they feel obliged on the students’ Facebook without intruding their privacy and damaging their prestige. They should be clear that Facebook walls are not their classrooms where they may feel they are kings or queens and that students are, in a way, forced to listen to them and obey them.

Every person is a king or queen of their own private lives and they bear their own highest prestige. It may not be wise on a teacher’s part to give ‘kind of assignments’ as they comment on their students’ Facebook walls. To reiterate, students’ Facebook walls are not teachers’ classrooms. Facebook walls, in no way, are the places to assign assignments.

Facebook walls are kind of public forums where audiences from different strata of life might be taking part as audience. It’s not the place for teachers or professors to bark their orders. If teachers-professors have something to tell with regard to their academic business, they could either send emails, send information through other media such as Messenger, WhatsApp, and Viber.

If something has been published publicly like in the newspapers, it might be better to comment right there in the newspapers themselves rather than commenting on the Facebook walls. This is not to say that, teachers-professors should not offer suggestions to students but to say that they should respect the privacy and prestige of their students and be sensitive toward writing negative comments. Nobody is perfect and teachers-professors acting as if they are perfect on the public forum of their students’ walls is not that prudent and pleasing.

Are you a boss commenting on your subordinates’ Facebook walls? Or are you a teacher or professor tempted to write negative comments or offer suggestions straight away? How would you like to present yourself on the social media? What’s your attitude towards your subordinates? What’s your attitude towards your students? Have you ever thought about your jurisdiction? Have you ever thought about the broad spectrum of lives of other people? Have you ever thought about their connections with other people? How sensitive are you about other people’s privacy?
Leave your hats off of your bosses and teachers and professors. On Facebook walls, treat humans, as humans, not otherwise.