M. CO-COUNSELING RELATIONSHIPS
M.3. Electronic Communications (Lengthy Reason)
Use of Social Media
Non-RC social media websites and apps can help Co-Counselors connect and exchange information and can contribute to the functioning of the RC Community. However, Co-Counselors should be careful not to use them to socialize, which we in RC have agreed not to do.
Co-Counselors should be thoughtful about posting personal information on social media when Co-Counselors and others have access to the posts. Co-Counselors who express their distress recordings on social media expose other Co-Counselors to those distresses (which sometimes include addictive or other irrational behavior). This can damage the Co-Counseling relationships.
With thought and effort, social media websites and apps can be used to support RC relationships.
Not Designed for RC Relationships
Most social media websites and apps are owned by businesses motivated by the economic, exploitative, and other interests of our societies. They are often intended to be addictive to their users. Their policies do not necessarily respect privacy, copyright, and so on. These non-RC communication tools are not designed for building RC relationships. They have different goals. If Co-Counselors mention the names of other Co-Counselors on social media websites and apps without permission (except in the context of projects using RC outside of the RC Community), it breaches our confidentiality agreement.
We cannot assume that any electronic communication is private or secure. Co-Counselors must think about confidentiality and the possibility that information (identity, personal information, session material, and so on) from interactions on electronic communication will be used to target people with attacks and oppression, either now or in the future. Co-Counselors are members of different groups and live in different countries and contexts. The severity of potential attacks and repression varies a great deal by individual, group, country, and context. Whatever risk we face, we need to be sure we’re not putting others at risk who may be facing a much greater risk.
Projects Using RC Outside the RC Community
Social media websites and apps can be useful for sharing the ideas and work of the RC Community. We have used them as part of our projects using RC outside the RC Community—such as United to End Racism (UER), Sustaining All Life (SAL), No Limits for Women (No Limits), and Jews and Allies United to End Antisemitism. These public projects have different goals from the usual activities of the RC Community. Their purpose is to communicate RC theory and practice to people outside of the RC Community. It has sometimes been helpful to post photos and other content from these projects on social media websites and apps.
Co-Counselors participating in these projects must agree that their photo can be used with the public project on social media websites or apps, personal social media accounts, the project’s social media accounts (for example, @sustainalllife), or RC websites or publications.