I get really bothered realizing that what we say on the Internet or in some social groups will eventually spread outward and could become more common. It’s like a feeling of a weight that is constantly bearing down on me that almost feels paralyzing.
And just now I thought of sharing something I just did but I realize that by doing this it can have real effects in the world that can be beneficial/detrimental .
As an example, I remember sharing some information about something and what bothers me is if it involves buying certain products, I will - later down the road in time - notice that that product starts getting bought out. I mean there are times when I go to the store and I noticed the product is virtually gone.
So I really do think seriously about this and I realize that what we say and do matters and it will affect us in some big or small ways. And these trends will and can have big or small impacts - negative or positive - which can be difficult or easy to adjust to.
Yes, sometimes speech can have far-reaching consequences. Especially highly destructive speech, or original or creative speech.
Sometimes, before I post something online, I spend time considering whether something very similar has been broadly published.
When I was studying Kung Fu with a bunch of guys in college, I brought up the idea of using forms to memorize stuff. One of the guys said something like, “Yeah! Forms are indexes!” That was about 25 to 27 years ago. I think I waited that long before I found something very similar online and posted it:
Posting something that is already very widely published in a helpful context seems much less dangerous to me.