To Do And Not To Do On Social Media

-Pratiti Nath

Social Media enables us to connect with people, share our lives, conduct business, exchange ideas and information. All of this in a quick and hassle free manner. It isn’t devoid of certain drawbacks. Similar to all other modes of communication like telephone, SMS or letters , social media too is plagued by certain problems. These problems can only be countered by following certain decorum. Here are some common social media etiquette to keep in mind while using any social media platform.

 1. Choose a proper profile picture and name

You are very fond of your pet and have it as your profile picture. You are book-lover and choose your favorite character as your name on social media channels. While these things display your likes and your personality it raises a question about your genuineness. Remember this may appear in Google search when someone searches for your name. Always opt for a decent genuine picture of yours along with your name. If you don’t want your picture in the public domain refrain from adding any instead of relying on pictures of places or superstars. In case of a business account make the company logo or the company building showing the name as the profile picture. Share your vision in the about yourself section and the company tagline for cover picture.  

2. Separate your personal and professional life

Similar to your real life, your virtual life should have separate forums for professional and personal spheres. You definitely don’t want your boss browsing over your late night clubbing or weekend beach gateway pictures. Leave it for your friends. Likewise you don’t want to bore your friends with unnecessary work details. Having separate accounts for your business or work related handle and for your personal use is the key. If you are not one of those who can handle multiple accounts then customize your posts. Control who can view your posts.

 3. Do not write posts when you are angry or feeling low

You are feeling low tweet, a philosophical quote or a sorrowful vague post. While these posts might serve the purpose of relieving the burden of your emotion, they don’t go down well with others. Frequent such posts will often lead to people associating negative attributes (like complaining) with you. Hence, they will start avoiding you. Think before posting such things. Think of its viability after a few months. If it isn’t then discard it. If you cannot do without posting such things customize them to “friends”, “only me” or any other that you prefer. 

 4. Refrain from tagging and sharing pictures of others

You uploaded a picture of your friends chilling on beach and that landed her in trouble in her office. You have posted an old nostalgic picture of your high school batch mate. He isn’t comfortable of it. Thus, refrain from sharing pictures of others without their consent. People have a definitive way of projecting themselves in public which might not gel with your perceived view. Hence, always ask before posting. Another problem is of unnecessary tagging. Don’t tag people to pictures when they aren’t in it. Nobody wants to see a picture of your cat tagged along with 50 people and 20 comments. 

5. Refrain from Oversharing

People need not go through everything you find interesting on Facebook. Of course you find those memes and short stories hilarious. You need not share each and every item you like. Restrict the number of posts you share. Only share the ones which you find of utmost importance. Oversharing will clutter other people’s news feed leading people to ignore or unfriend you. 

6. Restrict from badmouthing anyone.

You had a fight with your partner or had a bad day at office and you start lamenting it out on Social Media. Remember these are public forums and hence the thing you are posting is available for everyone to see. Thus, refrain from making resentful posts or badmouthing anyone. 

7. Do not jump on the bandwagon and start a debate war.

Social media is a platform for sharing things and connecting with people. One such way of doing it is sharing your views and opinions about current affairs. Be tolerant and understanding of other people views and opinions. Your friend changes his profile picture in solidarity of the Paris attack whereas you didn’t. Politely disagree with his views and convey your message privately. Don’t start a debate over it. Some friends have shared something about your favorite superstar and you find it offensive. Instead of quarreling it out in public discuss it privately. If possible ignore such things.

8. Refrain from spamming people with gaming requests/friend requests/apps request.

You like to play online games and can’t help people sending request. While you might not control these things, you can certainly control the number of such requests you send. Prevent from recommending unnecessary pages and apps to people. In case your friends do so, convey it to them that you don’t like it or stop notifications from those apps. 

9. Refrain from making personal conversations on posts

Suppose you have uploaded a picture of yourself in a restaurant. You friend likes it and starts asking questions about it. Gradually the conversation starts drifting to other things. Now, this could irritate others who have liked/commented on your pictures and getting cluttered by your notifications. The best way to deal with such things, is politely answer the first question and then allow the conversation to flow on a private chat. If you are bogged by such notifications from anyone’s profile just turn off future notifications from them.

10. Check your grammar, spelling, facts and don’t overuse abbreviations/hashtags

The things which you post will remain online in the future. Anyone can view it by searching about the topic. Hence, you should be absolutely sure about facts before posting them. Read the full document or view the full video before making a comments about it. Grammatical errors and typos can make you seem insincere. Use abbreviations but don’t flood your entire writing with it. It might make you cool in your friend’s circle but it puts a question mark on your credibility. Hashtags are important to make people notice certain issues or points. Thus, hash tagging is for particular words or phrases. Don’t hashtag every word in the sentence. 

These are the essential habits one needs to keep in mind while using social media platforms. Abiding by these rules one can easily prevent any nuisance from occurring.