Personal opinion or professional fact?

David Goodheart, author of The road to somewhere, wrote that ‘personal experience is, of course, very important in shaping one's views,’ (Goodheart, 2020), and I doubt that many of us reading this would disagree. Your personal views and opinions are yours, they are as diverse as our political, social and religious beliefs.

In this digital age, a person's personal views can no longer be considered private when shared on any social media platform, and, as we have seen, there can be some serious consequences to sharing one's personal opinion on social media, from defamation claims to harassment and cyberbullying.

However, what of our professional views and where are we sharing these? One's professional opinion can be interlinked with and forged from our own personal perspective and beliefs. I would urge caution on sharing one's personal views online, but when coupled up with one's professional and personal beliefs, then beware, especially so when these views and opinions are subjective.