How do you deal with negative comments on social media?

When negative or rude comments show up on my social media, I choose not to engage. Advocacy already requires a lot of emotional energy, and I don’t feel obligated to absorb anyone else’s hostility. If a comment is unnecessarily nasty, I simply delete it and move on. I have enough meaningful work to focus on, and protecting my own well‑being is just as important as supporting others. Now if they want a conversation I am more than engage and try to establish a civil dialog, because I do try to understand all peoples perspective even if different from my own. But if they are just being rude, I do not engage.

Actually this was the top of my leadership Meeting yesterday, for an upcoming coalition meeting that I help run. We work in Substance Use and Mental Health services, but more on the Legislation side of things. When a community organization receives a grant from Commerce or a private entity, the negativity is so overwhelming, but I must commend my fellow organization's for handling it- sometimes gracefully and sometimes just shutting it down completely.
I actually attempted to apply for a Commerce Grant earlier this year and I was so excited, but after looking at the terms of the grants and the "pigeon hole" that an organization is kept in - I was disappointed. I made it past the first round, but I didn't get my grant.. I wasn't sad, I was relieved. I was relieved because I wasn't stuck in the proverbial "pigeon hole" that most organization's are in. So I presented to the last coalition meeting that we start educating the public about Commerce grants, and the supposed "allotted" money that was voted for to help support these programs and one of our coalition members was dead set AGAINST it- why you ask? They have been in the area doing this work for 15 years and it's a waste of time trying to educate our community...hmmm 🧐 this sounds a lot like burnout to me. I think that changing the public's mind is a whole other level, but if we can educate 5 people a month on the real problems and how to get things changed on a higher level, Legislation, I think more will follow and want to learn.
I'm in Washington State, I was a sophomore in highschool when Washington decided to make the lottery legal and use the money from the sales to support the public schools - 1983ish? I thought that was a forever fund 😐 I didn't find out that it wasn't a forever fund until 2025...I cannot be the only person who thinks this, right? I'm not talking about changing people's minds, I'm talking about general education so the public can help shape these programs to work better and to have these "funds" not going into the general slush funds after 5 years.

I myself like to challenge the negativity comments with questions, I ask them to cite their sources and I also invite them to our meetings, which are open to the public and we switch it up with in-person and virtual meetings.. I ALWAYS do this from a point of curiosity and not anger towards the person - because they don't know what they don't know, and if they don't have ALL the information to make an informed decision for themselves and their families, that is a disservice and I want to provide them with every tool in the toolbox to help them along the way.
Mama B

I use to struggle with knowing when to react. Now that I have had more interactions, now I know when I should either ignore a negative comment and either delete or block a person. Or try to have a little bit work maybe this person is unaware and we can actually have positive dialogue. So I think it’s a mix sometimes ignore and delete sometimes try to have an open conversation. It’s all up to the individual and the situation.

If they are obviously trolls, or completely closed off to discussion, I normally block them. If they are making points I may disagree with, or just find overly negative even if I disagree, I try to reference facts that lead to hope or positivity, or politely give a different opinion, with reasons.