I've been a part of the social media scene since my acceptance onto the Black Planet platform in 1999. Shortly thereafter, I was upgrading my participation on the then wildly popular MySpace site. By 2006, I considered myself a social media guru, casually surfing through my friend's profiles, looking for old friends. But as life would have it, social media, like myself, is constantly evolving, and changing what it means to be "connected."
One year after the up start, Facebook, opened its registration to college students, I was right there, starry eyed, trying to be an early adopter, while hoping to reconnect with my old high school buddies. I had no idea that I would begin a journey that would help shape who I would become. I stumbled my way through the sign up process and eventually learned the ins and outs of the system. Facebook responded by continuously adding new content and applications, one of which, was the ability to create private and public groups. Since 2006, many groups I was a part of have come and gone. The few that have stuck around have evolved into something more, something that even Facebook couldn't have imagined, families.
Traditionally, families have strong bonds. They argue, fight, and eventually come together and make up. In other words, the cycle continues, strengthening their bonds. However, Facebook added a new element, admin (administrators), which has had unforeseen consequences. Admins are people that control the group. They are normally the people that created the group. They set the rules and therefore the tone of what the group is about and the direction the group will go. In 2018, these groups usually pin the group rules and mission to the top the news feed. New members are encouraged to read and heed these virtual constitutions.
About 3 years ago, I joined one such group. We'll call it "Chill Peeps." It was very inviting, engaging, and the trips were a lot of fun. (This group had out of town meet ups) But as the group aged and people became more comfortable, the group dynamics changed. More dominant personalities began to suppress the more soft spoken ones. What's more alarming is that when personalities clashed, the admin's word was law. Soon members were kicked out (purged) or left out of frustration. Now, the group is unrecognizable. The closeness that I had come to appreciate in this group above all others had all but dissipated. Group friendships have fractured and people are afraid to speak up. The irony is that this group was born out of a much larger group that had the same issues this one is having now. The Chill Peeps freed themselves from tyranny only to become tyrannical.
There were several different types of admin personalities affecting the direction of the group. The quiet admin only spoke out when called to the post and even then was a voice of few words. Their presence was seen as the great equalizer. In the beginning, they were able to keep balance. There is a head strong admin determined to win every argument. In any group, there are always head strong people. The difference with admin is when there is a major disagreement, they felt it in their right to remove you from the group. Most of the time this was done without consulting the others. Finally, there is a behind the scenes admin. This admin could potentially be the most dangerous because their moves are never attributed to them. They move through inboxes and text messages, gathering data and making group altering decisions. They may lurk on post and like comments but rarely do they actually engage the group unless directly requested.
As the years go by and comfort sets in, the boisterous admin becomes king or queen (one admin to rule them all). The others bend to their will and before long, their word is law. They rampage through post, offending any who dare disagree. It is unclear if the other admin support this behavior or avoid the conflict altogether. The point is, when disagreeable people are left unchecked, they poison the well of personalities in the group, setting up a fatal infection that slowly spreads until the group becomes a hallow shell of its former self. A flourishing group becomes a dry husk of memories.