Roommate drama is inevitable.
Living in a tight, semi-shareable space with someone who a) smells bad b) talks loud c) never shares in apartment chores, etc., can really get annoying. Nevertheless, it may be best to suppress your urge to vent to everyone your know (and some you don’t) over social media.
Consider this: social media has become a dumping ground for negativity. Didn’t like your waiter? Write a 500 word Facebook post about it. Someone scratched your car? Videotape yourself bemoaning your life while you zoom in on the disturbed paint job. It may feel natural for you to want to tweet: “Roomy didn’t shower this morning. Gross! #roomatesaretheworst.” As harmless as that may seem, realize:
Your roommate WILL find out.
Social media connects everyone. You may have a mutual friends who will tell on you in an instant. Even if no one tattles directly, your roomy could still find it. I am not friends with the Queen of England. However, if I click on my friend’s link to see their friends, and then click on that friend to see who they are friends with, and so on and so forth, eventually I may reach her majesty’s page. People don’t like it when you talk behind their backs, albeit, your post wasn’t especially mean. Even if your roomy isn’t especially vengeful, things can get pretty awkward when you’ve got bad blood in a shared space.
No one likes ugly.
If you post/tweet ugly things about your roommate, don’t expect a mass following. In fact, be prepared to be “unfriended.” People don’t like meanness and negativity, and may think less of you for putting someone else down. They also may wonder if you talk about them like that too.
Hate breeds hate.
The more you laugh, the more you want to laugh. The more hate you share, the more hate you want to share. It’s bad for mental health to always be malicious. Your body is a machine that does what you tell it to do. If you feel hateful, you tell your body to keep letting you feel hateful, and over time you will become a sore to yourself and others. You’ve met those people. You know.
In essence, live and let live. We cannot control other people. We can only control ourselves. If your roomy does something you can’t live with, TALK to them and work it out. Venting on social media does only one thing: foster negativity. Find your chi, keep your side of the street clean, and share a picture of a baby elephant instead.
About the author: J.M. Robison is a fantasy author who’s written 8 fantasy novels to date (1 published, 3 more to be published in 2018.) She’s quested to foreign lands with the U.S. Army, and currently has high hopes of quitting her day job to stay home and get paid to write. She makes her own shampoo, lotions, laundry soap, face wash, cleaners, and toothpaste, and is anti-chemical anything in her home. Someday she’ll pack the wagon and roam the mountains in search of dragons.
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