Mount Isa Mayor Joyce McCulloch has spoken out about the negativity of social media after potential defamatory comments were made online about council and some of its employees.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That matter is now in the hands of council solicitors but Cr McCulloch urged people to think before they posted comments on social media.
“We have 200 employees who do a very good job with limited resources,” Cr McCulloch said.
The Mayor urged people who had issues with council to take it up directly with councillors rather than just vent on social media.
“We have an open door policy – we are an open and transparent council,” she said.
“If you want to make a difference, then talk to someone.”
Cr McCulloch said as a society we were becoming more reliant on social media.
“The question around that is what sort of result do you want and whether it is the desired result in the end,” she said.
“Social media can have a very negative impact on people’s lives.”
Cr McCulloch said there had been a lot of negative media surrounding council and her role as Mayor.
“People think I’ve got my head in the sand because I don’t indulge in social media,” she said.
“But that’s incorrect, I’m around the community a lot and I think people need to realise that if their head is down in their device they are missing out on what is going on in the real world.”
Cr McCulloch said she had a few people around her who advised her what was going in social media.
“If friends or family need me to action something, they know to do it the old-fashioned way,” she said.
“My role takes on an awful lot of reading and research, so trying to balance everything, I don’t have the time to indulge in social media.”
Cr McCulloch said the sad thing was we don’t give each other time.
“We stop that respect and real connection, and we need to just change a little bit and pick up the phone or connect face-to-face,” she said. “People’s whole world should not be about their device.”