Skip to content

SheilaScribbles

  • Home
  • Photos
  • Books
  • Archives
  • About me

SheilaScribbles

my thoughts on life

IMHO – Are you sure about that?

October 23, 2017 by Sheila Siler

“IMHO” has become a familiar acronym in social media communications. In my humble opinion is regularly seen after a person posts their thoughts (usually dissenting) on any given subject or circumstance.

In observing the usage of this term – I see it used two different ways.

One – it’s an apology for having a different opinion. I have used it this way myself. Why? Why in the land of the free and home of the brave does one feel the need to apologize for having a different view or opinion? Are our friends (supposedly we know the people who are on our friend list) so shallow or narrow that they won’t respect what we have to say? We should have friends who both do and don’t think the way we do, but they should be friends enough that we can state our differing view without fear of being shish-kabobbed.

Two – it’s the opposite of being humble. I hate to admit it but I’m fairly certain I’ve used it this way too. It’s a sarcastic barb thrown out to say my opinion is right and you are obviously wrong (because you are stupid, or ignorant, or mis-informed) but I’ll throw in IMHO so that you won’t be too offended by my superior intellect. It’s false humility.

Real humility is not announced.

I’ve decided to try and not use IMHO. My beliefs and opinions are just that – mine. I should not have to apologize for them, nor should I hold them over others as being superior. I’m trying to think before I post my opinions and beliefs on social media – examining my motives for posting first. I’m discovering that most of the time my opinion is not adding anything to the conversation – it’s just a matter of pride to say something. If truly a “real conversation” is taking place (which I think is pretty rare on social media) then I might weigh in, but otherwise I’ll have to think twice about it.

Post navigation

Previous Post:

Think on these things

Next Post:

“Art” Lessons

2 Commments

  1. Ivan Siler says:
    October 23, 2017 at 10:46 pm

    Well said! I often use the false humility ploy myself…..sorry…..

  2. Alex J. Cavanaugh says:
    October 24, 2017 at 7:28 am

    Very true. It’s not humble. And most opinions aren’t tossed out there for conversation – they are statements with no room for negotiation.

Comments are closed.

Categories

  • Book Review
  • Current Events
  • Faith
  • Family
  • Holidays
  • Miscellaneous
  • Pop Culture
  • Self-Reflection
  • Travel
© 2023 SheilaScribbles | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes