Opinion: Social media – lots to love and hate

When it comes to social media in agriculture, there are three aspects – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Let’s start with the good. Social media is now an ever-present part of our lives. If you’ve managed to avoid it so far, you will be in the minority.

Depending on how you use them, platforms such as Twitter can be an incredibly useful tool to share and discuss ideas, ask questions, and dispel myths.

See also: Opinion – owning your mistakes in farming leads to learning

About the author

Jack Frater

Jack Frater is an agricultural consultant based in Galashiels in the Scottish Borders. He graduated from the Royal Agricultural University with a degree in agricultural management in 2013, having grown up on a family farm near Alnwick.

Read more articles by Jack Frater

It’s a place where you can engage with the public to promote our industry and provide them with a true insight into farming, just as Tom Pemberton (whose Twitter biog describes him as “A farmer making videos”) and Ally Hunter Blair (whose biog says “Whinge about the weather a lot & sometimes found miming in a combine cab”) have been able to do.

And let’s be honest, who doesn’t enjoy a good combine photo on Instagram?

But with the good comes the bad. Everyone likes to show off now and then, but there are those who take it too far.

TikTok has brought with it a plethora of young farmers acting irresponsibly, all for the sake of getting more views or likes. Farming is dangerous enough without adding in stupidity.

Then there’s the ugly. There are two elements to this one – the first is the not-so-silent minority.

The faceless, keyboard warriors with their anti-farming agenda who have no interest in balanced arguments or alternative views.

Thankfully, they are the minority so the best way to deal with them is to simply move on.

You aren’t going to change their minds so don’t waste your time – you are far better finding those looking for a discussion instead.

The second, which is possibly more of a concern, is the negativity and mudslinging by other farmers.

It can start with comments about somebody’s choice of tractor, but can quickly develop into criticism and even personal attacks.

Having opinions is a good thing, but with constant criticism coming from outside the farming industry, arguing among ourselves, instead of having reasonable discussions, will only stifle progress.

If you disagree, you can find me on Twitter.