Social media has the potential to benefit the hunting community by introducing younger generations to the excitement and enjoyment of our sport. Posting pictures while hunting from a tree stand is “rad” or “cool” or whatever young people call it these days. Because hunting is often a solitary endeavor, the ability to share experiences on social media has a inclusive effect that can motivate new members to take their first steps towards the outdoors.
94 Percent of Americans are Non-hunters
I was fortunate enough to grow up in a small town where hunting was very common and we made many friends through hunting trips and conversations about our exploits. However, in general, hunters are a very small minority of the overall population and the things we say and do on-line can make things better or worse in the hunting world.
Social Media Uproar (No pun intended)
One need only think back to the recent plight of a dentist who booked a lion hunt in Africa and its international consequences. Anti-hunters saw this event as an opportunity to give all hunters a black eye and they made the most of it. Like it or not, most mainstream media outlets are liberal in their reporting which complicates the problem. For example, the lion fiasco was so detrimental to Zimbabwe’s hunting program that 100 lions had to be culled due to lack of hunt bookings. Was that reported on the news?
Think Before You Post
This post by Michael Turbyfill on the NDA website is one of the most informative I’ve seen and you will quickly recognize one or more of these “disliked” categories on your Facebook or other social media feeds. Here are his thoughts:
Ever lived in a community where everyone had a well-maintained yard…except one neighbor? One neighbor lets their grass grow tall and piles junk in the driveway. The neighbor is well within his or her rights to make a mess. But unfortunately for others, the community isn’t quite as attractive as it could be if the messy neighbor would clean up.
This is a metaphor for hunters on social media.
As hunters, we’re within our rights to post on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and share whatever we want…and I support that 100%. However, we need our hunting community to look as nice as possible so other people consider our lifestyle appealing and acceptable (I’ll explain why this is so incredibly important at the end of the article).
Here are five types of hunters on social media that make our community less attractive.
https://nationaldeeralliance.com/editorial/5-hunters-most-people-dislike-on-social-media
