“What the actual freak is going on and what am I supposed to do?”

Is this you, sister? 

Whether you’re a working woman, a smashing cool housewife, or even a student, it’s been tough to handle our duties and catch up with current situations. Most of us are completely burnt out, overwhelmed, you name it but we need to get involved.

Society is getting insane

Social media has been loud with bombings, ignored sexual assault cases, Coronavirus spiking and anti-vaccine arguments. It’s tiring when we’re trying to have a little escape from work but what we read/see online is just another problem and they are almost unacceptable.

This leads to many unintentional social media posts that would either invite an agreement or unhealthy debates. Here are some matters to look after before engaging on social media to find a better outcome:

Emotional Intelligence (EI)

Referring to the ability to acknowledge and respond to emotions with adapting to the meaning and complex relationship of it. It is very crucial to be able to sink into the actual situation and comprehend what’s coming out of our minds in a conversation.

Came upon a study by Goleman on Mixed Modul of EI, he elaborates 4 stages that portray EI as a mental ability:

1. Self-awareness - acknowledge and validate emotions that oneself feels
2. Self-management - respond to the emotions and adapt them to the situation/dialogue 
3. Social awareness - interpret the emotions that oneself felt and portrayed from the other party, then respond through social media 
4. Relationship management - promote, motivate or improve others in managing complexity without ignoring the emotions

Hope that a brief theoretical explanation is not too much, ihik (laughs in unstable)

EI and decision making

Someone with better Emotional Intelligence makes better decisions (C. Girija Navaneedhan, 2020). We love a person who talks nicely in a tight conversation, don’t we?

Matching the energy is one thing, but spitting facts is absolutely beautiful and sexy. When we are able to understand ourselves as well as the other party, together we could come out with the right decision/solution. This is mainly because we talk using our brains without ignoring our emotions.

With the world juggling with seen and unseen crimes, fake news is also widely spread. These people who believe in fake news need to be properly enlightened on the facts. Sarcasm and direct hateful comments would only make them feel invalidated eventually, they won’t listen or even trust us anymore.

We are not always right

Bear in mind that we are not always on the right side. Just because you are following titled influencers, that does not make your statement the truth. Emotional intelligence also contributes to this term called ‘aesthetic behavior’. It refers to the act to follow/imitate habits, opinions, lifestyle, or easy to say to be another person (Sulianti,2020).

Always fact-check before agreeing to an argument on a sensitive issue, don’t be so easily influenced. Some medical officers are scaring elders on vaccines, what do you expect?

Long story short story, filter everything you see and say online. Remember to validate emotions and fact-check every argument. 

Stay safe Freakys, what should we talk about next?