Do you find that people seem to be getting offended by expressions you’ve heard or said your whole life? Videosocials.net co-founder, Mark Bullock shares a few examples of things he’s always said or heard and now has to think twice about.

Stay up to date, get our newsletter

Transcript:

So, just how politically correct do we need to be when we’re creating videos for social media, YouTube, etc.

Hi, I’m Mark Bullock. I’m the co -founder of Videosocials.net and phoneBlogger.net.

And, you know, some of us may be, you know — look, I am who I am — I’m going to say what I’m gonna say — and people can live with it. And that’s your choice, and I’d like you to consider a little something else.

So, I’m part American Indian or there’s a number of different ways that people like to be called you know, Native American, etc. And that’s kind of the point. You don’t know, necessarily, what somebody wants to be called or what may offend them. So, there’s a few things to give you — a few examples of things that we might think about, especially now that we’re in this age of being more aware of what is potentially offensive to others.

So, being American Indian, I have absolutely no problem with the following statement, you know — Too many chiefs, not enough Indians — but others may find that offensive, right? And there’s lots of ways of saying that — too many cooks in the kitchen — etc., without potentially being offensive to somebody.

Another one that, you know, I’ve had to really look at how do I get it out of my vocabulary because it’s literally been there since I was a child — is a Chinese Fire Drill. I never meant anything by saying it, but — and I certainly didn’t mean to denigrate Chinese people for saying it, but, you know, now I see that, yeah, that could very well be something that people would have a problem with. So… and again, there’s lots of ways of saying that, you know, people running around in chaos, right?

So, the thing I want you to consider is not only are you potentially limiting your audience by using phrases, or saying things that others might find offensive — you’re also potentially limiting your audience by those who are offended FOR those that you could be inadvertently, of course, and accidentally, offending by just using old phrases, old concepts that really we need to think, we need to think about, and we need to consider not putting people in the position of being uncomfortable if it’s not necessary.

Again, if you don’t care one way or the other, it’s a, you know, it’s a free world. It’s a free society. You do what you want, but just realize you could be very much cutting down your potential audience and /or offending them.

Again, I hope you found that valuable. If you did, there’s lots of other tips at Videosocials.net/Academy .

Again, I’m Mark Bullock, Videosocials.net. Have a great day.