Logan Anderson

Social Media - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Part 2- The Bad

Misinformation

A lot of people turn to the online world seeking information for their upcoming hunting season. Questions regarding lease land, different hunting areas, OHV use and more. While turning to social media can be a useful tool, it could lead to some severe consequences if you’re not careful. For many first time hunters, who don’t have a guide to the lifestyle, asking for pointers in hunting groups on social media may lead to the spread of misinformation. There are people that are a part of these groups that may have hunted many years but have been misinformed themselves, and continue passing out bad advice for hunters that follow. I feel people can be very rude and disrespectful to novice hunters, which likely discourages them from asking future questions. I have even seen people intentionally giving out false information or misleading advice to deter fellow hunters that may be hunting similar areas. This is very unsportsmanlike behaviour, and it’s frustrating to hunters who are trying to be sustainable and respectable within the community. Knowledge is only gained by experience and informing yourself with the correct way on doing things. Your local regulations or local Fish and Wildlife office are the best resources to cross reference something a person has suggested.

Addiction.

To me, hunting is addictive - even without social media present. Add Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and all the big name social media companies and you don’t stand a chance. These apps all have algorithms to get to know you, and keep you coming back for more. Both in and out of season, avid hunters’ newsfeeds are filled with posts from hunting groups, hunting brands, and friends. These platforms enable people to see big game harvests from all over the world and hear the stories behind them. Using our mobile devices can be a good way to kill time in the stand, but it also takes away from the emersion of the experience.

I see people constantly post updates such as, “heading to the stand”, “just got into the stand”, “deer coming in”, “just sent an arrow”, “got good blood”, and well… you get the gist of it. The whole nine yards. It seems people are more motivated to update their status every five minutes, than they are motivated to enjoy the moment. Being in the great outdoors is about noticing that eagle flying overhead, watching that fox run by your stand, those breath-taking sunsets and sunrises, and that fresh air. Constantly harvesting positive feedback from social media is addicting - that’s the nature of it. Seeing those comments and likes can be a confident booster, or - on the contrary - when a hunter has been unsuccessful, seeing other people harvesting animals that they themselves are pursuing can be disheartening. And yet they keep coming back for more.

Don’t let social media put too much of a sour taste in your mouth. Out of all the ugly and bad that comes from the online world, the good will prevail and present itself.