The latest special Fairmont City Council meeting largely centered on whether Council Member Britney Kawecki had disclosed private personnel data of a current or former city employee to members of the public.

The method in which this information was supposedly shared? Social media, Facebook to be exact.

I’ll be honest, sitting in a meeting for over an hour listening to grown adults, elected officials no less, argue back and forth about what was posted on Facebook was a little embarrassing.

The Facebook, which was created by college students to befriend and keep track of other college students, launched in 2004. At that time I myself was in my early junior high school years. Of course, it’s evolved since then.

Today Facebook isn’t just used for family and friends to keep up with each other, but it’s used by businesses and other entities to get messages out.

It’s also used, evidently, as a way for elected officials to share their opinion on any number of issues.

Personally, I am not a fan of Facebook. Many of my friends, people in their early 30s, do not have Facebook.

I view it as a necessary evil because while I don’t go on my personal account much and I’d rather get rid of it altogether, I’ve come to realize that this community loves Facebook.

I’ve talked to some colleagues at other newspapers in our region about the issues in Fairmont surrounding Facebook and some specific social media pages. It’s not like that in other communities. Are there some “complaint” pages? Certainly. But the discord here, especially involving city staff and elected officials, is at a level I haven’t heard has been reached in other communities.

During the special meeting, after several of the council members said they would like to see other councilors posting less or posting different content, Mayor Lee Baarts pointed out that a lot of elected officials have Facebook and use it as a means to share information and that he really didn’t see it going away.

I don’t think that’s a good enough response to the issues we have here. It’s true freedom of speech exists, but Councilor James Kotewa had a point when he said elected officials — all of them — need to be held to a higher standard. Can you say and post whatever you want off the cuff? Yes. Does that mean you should? Probably not.

After listening to grown adults discuss Facebook and the issues that have stemmed from it, I can’t help but think about our youth. If aged and experienced adults can have so many problems with it, think about high schoolers, or children younger than them who are not as developed. I shudder to think about all of the issues that can happen and do happen.

Earlier this year, two professionals in the Fairmont School District held a book discussion on “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, which looks into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media and big tech.

Other school districts, both in and out of the area, are looking into cell phone policies, in part no doubt to limit social media usage and the problems that can arise with it.

Recently, Australia implemented a world-first law which bans children under the age of 16 from social media.

When you look at the lengths we try to take to protect those who are more susceptible to the damage of social media — which includes the elderly who are often the target of scams, some of which now originate from Facebook– you’d think the least we can do is try to be good examples and good leaders.

If we’re concerned about children being bullied on social media, we should certainly make sure that we’re not doing it ourselves. And because I too believe elected officials should be held to a higher standard, we should be disappointed to see the discord on social media here in the city of Fairmont.

I would suggest to anyone looking to better themselves and their life strongly consider limiting social media use in the new year. There are plenty of other ways to communicate, stay informed and stay entertained.