Etiquette 101: Social media

Etiquette: is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group. _______________________________________________________________________________

Social media has become a part of our lives, it’s unavoidable. Now that it’s here, if you have an account, you might want to be aware of how you use your account. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, About.me, Blackplanet, MySpace, LinkedIn, and Pinterest are just a few sites. Let’s try something…don’t look at them as media sites, look at them as windows to your life. If you have an account on these sites, you are granting access to your; opinions, moods, friends, successes, failures…your life. You’re opening windows and once they’re open, you may not be able to close them.

You want to be cautious about what you share on Facebook (864 million active daily users or 1.3 billion monthly users)…yes billion!   Different parts of your life can be shared, some things shouldn’t. There’s an implied etiquette to how you use social media but unfortunately there’s no class to help you post appropriately. There’s no rules or no one advising you of how to use social media.

Social media is like being your own paparazzi on your own life.   I’m not going to say what not to post but hopefully, you’ll understand and think about the impact and possible repercussion of what you share.  I think back to my teenage years and laugh at all the crazy things I did and how relieved I am that we did NOT have social media back then. I also reminisce on how much I didn’t know and my reckless actions. Luckily, many of those ignorant juvenile statements were not recorded on social media. I don’t have many regrets in my memories of my youth, but the ones I do have are not recorded somewhere on the internet. My militant Public Enemy(rap group) or college party days are not  recorded somewhere on the cloud. Fortunately for everyone the 80’s are only recorded on non digital photos. :o)

It’s easy to recover from something that could be embarrassing but to have something that you’re ashamed of, is a different animal. Those shameful things tend to have the most hits and seem to constantly reappear. A girlfriend at 16 years old that I professed to marry on Facebook could be kind of embarrassing knowing that we broke up days later, or being locked up for stolen tags on your uncles car that you borrowed to drive your cousin to Yeadon is shameful, funny but still shameful. Just like sitting on train tracks helping a cousin, the same cousin, try to put some clarity to his recent breakup. Yes I said, sitting on train tracks. I won’t say his name because it’s funny between us. It’s not for everyone to know it’s private.

Privacy (from Latin: privatus) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves, or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The boundaries and content of what is considered private differ among cultures and individuals, but share common themes.

That’s my point, you’ll find out quick who your real friends are by seeing what they share about you. There are people that are clueless and will post things not to be malicious but just didn’t consider what could happen. You could even go to jail over something shared over the internet. Read this post: https://middlepassagementor.com/2013/12/02/1-bad-decision-can-alter-your-life/

Also think about employers as a part of the billion users. Do you want the people that employ you to see your posts?

Epic FB Mistake

Do you want them to see you drinking at a party…how about drunk and passed out? Not a good look, just as the friend who posted the “passed out” you, is not your real friend. Can drinking be interpreted as reckless, irresponsible, or habit forming? Will your future employer understand your partying ways?

Can your associations be viewed the same as you? Will your white friends understand the racists or militant views of your friends? Will you black friends approve a Dixie flag on you friends page. Will it change your relationship? It shouldn’t but don’t be surprised if it does.

Even now with the Facebook privacy policies and facial recognition, it’s become scary to me.  Before you post anything, it comes down to one simple question: Can you be proud of everything you share?

MPM

“Just because something is publicly accessible does not mean that people want it to be publicized.” Unknown

“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.” – Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google