In this article, we talk about Social Media Etiquette.
Addiction to social media is one of the main problems being faced today, both by the young and the old. People in every age group have got addicted to the benefits of advanced technology – i.e. social media. Around a decade ago, social media just started as fun and entertainment, but today people are obsessed with it, leading to serious lifestyle diseases.
People are addicted to social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etc. They post each and every activity of their lives on social media sites and their world revolves around the likes that they get from social media.
Cheaper smartphones and cheap data telecommunication charges have to lead us to enjoy the benefits of technology and social media in particular. India has currently a huge base of around 300 million internet users. A majority of these internet users access social media and it is one of the main reasons for using the internet.
Let us look at some of the symptoms and addictions of social media –
- You always need the mobile phone by your side.
- The mobile phone is the first thing that you look for when you wake up and the last thing that you access before going to bed.
- Your loved ones complain that you are always on the phone.
- You want to share everything, including your personal photos of you and your loved ones on social media.
- Further, you constantly check for the number of likes, tweets, and retweets of your messages.
- You start greeting your friends with their twitter handles rather than their real names.
- When someone tells you a joke, in reality, you reply lol (laugh out loud) instead of laughing.
While there are many more symptoms, the net result is that social media has led to major health issues and accidents. Today, we hear about accident cases, wherein young people while crossing the road are busy messaging on social media and have lost their lives in an instant. People check their phones while driving, leading to innocent lives being lost.
Many psychologists and experts have said that social media addiction like Facebook, Instagram, twitter etc., is getting worse by the day. Most social media companies are working day and night to make their networks so addictive that these social media networks become almost indispensable in our daily lives.
Top Social Media Etiquette
Avoid commenting on Controversial Topics
Many times controversies are started due to aggressive and bad language. People express their opinions on religion, women issues, racism, and terrorism, leading to controversies. It is very important to keep such discussions very cordial. You can give your opinion but don’t force it on anyone.
[content-egg module=Pixabay]Choose your friends and followers wisely
It is one of the most important etiquettes of social media. Definitely, you would not like people to notice that you are friendly with the wrong people.
Many times young people become friendly with wrong radical groups and they get into trouble because of wrong and offensive postings. Remember friends and families can check who you are following or friendly with and create an opinion about you.
Do not copy other people’s posts, jokes or pictures and post them as your own
Plagiarism is very high in social media. People copy and post messages, jokes etc., and use them as their own. This should be avoided as it will lead to a loss of face once people find out about your new found humor or poetic language.
Do not post too many photos or personal photos of your loved ones
Many parents have become such social media addicts that they post the pictures of all the activities of their children on their Facebook page. Remember people are not interested in watching each and every activity of your young toddler. Moreover, you are also putting your children at risk as anybody can use those pictures for ulterior motives.
Be careful while sharing the pictures of your loved ones, your children, daughters, sons etc., on Facebook, Instagram or any other social media channels.
Respect others and ask their permission before sharing their post or pictures.
It is important to respect people’s privacy. Many people like to keep their photos for private and family views only. It is important to ask their permission if you want to share any of their pictures with your groups.
[content-egg module=Amazon template=grid]Avoid sharing unnecessary details of your travel sojourns
Many times people share all their travel details, photos, food pictures, scenic views etc., and flood their social media page. The result is that people get weary of this over flooding of pictures and posts that do not interest them.
Build your social media profile responsibly and do not overdo self-promotion.
Start responsibly by respecting others and gaining their respect. You can share your own business information as well as share the works of others. Provide helpful information that people are looking for and want to know more about.
People try to self-promote themselves by retweeting their own tweets or liking their own posts and photos. You can easily avoid doing these things.
Be gracious
If any one likes your posts or comments then say thanks and you can even start a conversation with them.
Be clean and have fun
Social Media is meant to be enjoyable, so share things with friends and families, but do not overdo it. You can give your opinions but be cordial and do not get into arguments and use bad language.
Keep separate identities for business and personal
It is important to keep separate identities, for your business as well as your personal profile. Do not post any personal comments, posts or photos on your business profile so as to keep it professional.
Respond carefully to any of your posts that have garnered unnecessary attention
If your views or posts have gathered unnecessary attention through some comments and posts, then it is time to calm down. Do not go ballistic and start an online war. It is very easy that your reply will be taken out of context. So sit back, think through and then reply appropriately.
These are some of the things you can follow, to develop good social media etiquette.
Please read our earlier article Top 6 ways to do a digital detox for good health.
