Whether we like it or not, the world of hunting is at a crossroads that will determine much of its future. Every year recently, there are more and more PR disasters for our sport. Many are smaller; some are severe enough to make national headlines. The common theme is that this phenomenon is being driven to a new level by the desire for likes and attention on social media.
This is not the perspective of a Luddite. I personally have a limited private social media presence, and recognize that realistically, this is a large part of the way hunts will be documented and celebrated in the future. Where it can get hairy is the intersection of social media and advertising. Since the only really important metric is how much attention a profile gets and there aren't any actual qualifications to post, some of the largest representatives of our sport end up being people who have essentially no idea what they are doing or are willing to do anything, no matter how absurd or illegal, that generates likes. And so each fall, respectful outdoorsmen end up watching mortified as a roll of posts hashtagged "hunting," "biggamehunting" and "outdoorsman" show up next to pictures of gut shot animals taken at unethical distances by novice hunters seeking a ten percent off code with their favorite brand. Or worse. The sad reality is that many of these stunts do more to advance the agenda of radical anti hunting organizations like CDB or PETA than anyone in those groups ever will.
So SM isn't going anywhere, and we can't control who claims our sport for personal gain. What we can do is police ourselves. Obviously, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Profanity, unwarranted personal attacks and unsubstantiated allegations are a bad look for everyone. However, there must be an open and healthy discourse about what is acceptable to put out publicly as the face of our community. I have personally talked with friends in the industry about where the line is between sharing a hunt that didn't go perfectly as a learning experience, bending the truth to conceal mistakes and present a different story than what really happened, and simply not posting something at all if it isn't a good look. And there's more at stake here than just the immediate fallout from tactless attempts to generate engagement... the hunting ethics of the generation that will dominate the woods 20 years from now is currently being defined by what we allow to be elevated on social media.
So, maybe we police ourselves (in the right way) a little before we get policed from the outside. Just the thoughts of a bored guy in an airport, worth what ya paid for it. Let me know what I missed.
This is not the perspective of a Luddite. I personally have a limited private social media presence, and recognize that realistically, this is a large part of the way hunts will be documented and celebrated in the future. Where it can get hairy is the intersection of social media and advertising. Since the only really important metric is how much attention a profile gets and there aren't any actual qualifications to post, some of the largest representatives of our sport end up being people who have essentially no idea what they are doing or are willing to do anything, no matter how absurd or illegal, that generates likes. And so each fall, respectful outdoorsmen end up watching mortified as a roll of posts hashtagged "hunting," "biggamehunting" and "outdoorsman" show up next to pictures of gut shot animals taken at unethical distances by novice hunters seeking a ten percent off code with their favorite brand. Or worse. The sad reality is that many of these stunts do more to advance the agenda of radical anti hunting organizations like CDB or PETA than anyone in those groups ever will.
So SM isn't going anywhere, and we can't control who claims our sport for personal gain. What we can do is police ourselves. Obviously, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. Profanity, unwarranted personal attacks and unsubstantiated allegations are a bad look for everyone. However, there must be an open and healthy discourse about what is acceptable to put out publicly as the face of our community. I have personally talked with friends in the industry about where the line is between sharing a hunt that didn't go perfectly as a learning experience, bending the truth to conceal mistakes and present a different story than what really happened, and simply not posting something at all if it isn't a good look. And there's more at stake here than just the immediate fallout from tactless attempts to generate engagement... the hunting ethics of the generation that will dominate the woods 20 years from now is currently being defined by what we allow to be elevated on social media.
So, maybe we police ourselves (in the right way) a little before we get policed from the outside. Just the thoughts of a bored guy in an airport, worth what ya paid for it. Let me know what I missed.
