The demise of newspaper advice columns in the dailies seems to be leading more and more folks to set up shop online to dole out their homegrown expertise on social media. There is only one problem with this. They not only lack the credentials to professionally counsel anyone about anything, they insist that all others peddling these skills are frauds in some way. There was a time not long ago before the internet became the king of the field of public communication, that media in other forms would be used to direct both listeners and readers to some reliable sources.
Of course, there were more radio and television shows in the specific areas of interest and help. Talk shows of every variety hosted by folks like Larry King, Phil Donahue, and Maury Povitch who dispensed their own advice on most anything.
Although friends and family remain the “solid rocks” through most difficult times, sometimes they could be causing some of the the problems everyone is so eager to solve. Though they truly love the people they are trying to help out, it often is not so easy. A daily or even a weekly news newspaper, had regular features that offered advice for
who appear to need to seek specific counsel. Columns like Dear Ann Landers or Dear Abby provided just the outlet needed. Those were the two columns most of us remember clearly to help any one of us who could be said to lovelorn or socially unsure among us. The daily household problems were often solved by the combination of tips by such columns as Hints from Heloise for household tips.
Keeping our minds occupied so we didn’t have time to worry about what our community or neighbors thought, crossword puzzles and number games sufficed. Most of us in the Boomer generation, grew up with a daily newspaper, or a T.V. or radio program.
Friendship requires greater discernment than was needed before the growth of social media. Experts in the wide areas of living skills hold forth on learning good ways of fixing the things that are broken and that may include any relationship. Next time you are tempted to follow someone else’s advice rather than following your gut or heart’s inclinations, just utter this simple two word phrase to yourself: Say what?
By DOLLY VISCARDI