![]() ![]() Write to him at 1050 Union University Drive, Jackson, TN 38305. Brady is vice president for university ministries at Union University. Whether we have the information or not, let’s all do the work of thinking the best of others. Moreover, we are not entitled to have all the information. We may not ever have all the information. And in the case of Simone Biles and her withdrawal from Olympic competition, we don’t have all the information. Sometimes the best thing we can do it not say what we are thinking-especially when we don’t have all the information. The superficial and the approval of others becomes an obsession of adolescents.” While most of us are not teenagers, could it be that we are like hamsters running on wheels of the endless soundtracks of our own voices? To use Komisar’s words, does our own desire to wax eloquently about what might be considered the inadequacies of another person belie our own “self-involvement, self-consciousness and insecurity”? The four-time Olympic gold medalist took to Twitter on Wednesday to share her. Simone Biles is officially getting back on the competition floor. She said “Now social media prolongs this period of self-involvement, self-consciousness and insecurity, and teens and young adults often get stuck in a negative feedback loop. Simone Biles Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images. ![]() Writing for the Wall Street Journal about social media, adolescence, and mental health, Erica Komisar recently said that social media extends the shallow pursuits of adolescence. Online forums like Facebook and Twitter are places to spout off untested and unproven statements as we amass followers and likes for ourselves. “Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak.” (James 1:19) Talk is cheap. Rather than quickly spitting out any half-baked thoughts, perhaps we should do the hard work of keeping our mouths shut, patiently taking things in, and being gracious toward others along the way. We probably need fewer pundits and prognosticators who rush to judgment and more who do the slower and less glamourous work of listening. Maybe we should listen twice as much as we talk. None of us ever fully knows what is going on in the heart and mind of another person. Most of us don’t know the ins and outs of Olympic competition. We are not intimately involved in her life. Most of us don’t know enough about the situation to speak to it, much less to give any kind of opinion about it. Her close family and friends know more than most of us, but let’s just admit it. Us.Īt the end of the day, only Simone Biles herself really knows what she was experiencing in Tokyo. We may never be on the cover of a cereal box but let us remember that regardless of fame or ability, we all eat our cereal one spoonful at a time. Simone Biles made it to a Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries box. I remember when Mary Lou Retton was on a Wheaties box. Sure, the world has watched Biles on the global stage, but we need to remember that she is a human being just like the rest of us. As is always the case, there are three sides to this story. Like opinions I am hearing concerning whether to take the COVID-19 vaccine or to not take the COVID-19 vaccine, it seems that opining people are everywhere-from the “Simone-Biles-is-the-greatest-hero-ever-for-mental-health” folks to “Simone-Biles-is-just-a-famous quitter” people. “And there are things going on behind the scenes that we’re also trying to juggle with as well, on top of sports.Superstar American gymnast Simone Biles’s withdrawal from Olympic competition in this year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo caused quite a bit of chatter. “We’re not just entertainment, we’re humans,” Biles told the Associated Press at the time. The win tied Biles with Shannon Miller for the most medals won by an American gymnast. She subsequently pulled out of four individual finals before making a comeback and securing bronze on the balance beam. gymnast Jordan Chiles wrote, “Preach! Say it louder for the people in the back.”īiles faced waves of both backlash and support following her decision to withdraw from the team’s all-around final in Japan, citing mental health concerns and a disorienting issue that gymnasts sometimes experience known as the “ twisties.” Oscar-winning actor Viola Davis responded to Biles’ post with a simple but effective “Woooooooohoooooo!!!!!!!!” and several heart emojis, while fellow U.S. “‘Haters, keep talking I can’t hear you over my 7 Olympic medals,’” one supporter wrote. ![]() A post shared by Simone Biles caption garnered a lot of praise in the comments. ![]()
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