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For better or worse, social media has become an incredibly important part of human interaction over the past few years. It allows for instantaneous, easy communication, and is a way that anyone can exchange their ideas for an audience of intimate friends or random strangers. The inclusiveness of social media means that anyone with an internet connection can sign up for Facebook or Twitter, and with this inclusiveness comes the likelihood that some people may not be using social media properly. Whether it's the rookie who's still figuring it out, or the veteran who has blown by warnings from friends that they are acting incorrectly, not everyone aces social media. There are distinct rules of etiquette that one should follow online and, hopefully, the following list can help!
Brendan O'Hare is attempting to be a writer and comedian while living in NYC. Follow his comedy jokes on Twitter here.
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Avoid Over-Sharing Online
We don’t need to read status updates or tweets after every single thing you do. "I just ate a sandwich." Um, who cares? "A hungry bear has been outside my house for the past 12 hours and he won’t leave." No offense, but I didn't need to see 8 statuses about that! That's for you and you alone. If you do decide to post something, make sure it can appeal to other people and not just serve your need to talk about yourself. It sounds harsh, but trust me, the people who follow you will be thankful!
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Don't Talk About Things That Make Others Uncomfortable
Social media should be a pleasant, enjoyable experience, so don't fill your feed with unsightly information. If you are trapped in your house by a hungry bear, you should be telling that to the police, not your 436 Facebook friends! We would much rather see the results of the quizzes our friends took on Buzzfeed.
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Don't Ask People To Retweet Or Share The Things You Post
If something you do is interesting or worthwhile, people will share it on their own. If it isn't, that’s just too bad. Sorry your phone lines are down (to be fair, you should have phone lines that bears can't chew through), but your attempt at creating a viral video of the bear breaking into your home to gain the attention of some sort of authority figure just really isn't relevant to today's world, so I feel no obligation to share it with my friends.
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Don't Talk About Your Employer
This is a big one. There are always stories on the news about people talking bad about their work and subsequently getting fired, so it shouldn't even have to be said. But it keeps happening, so I feel the need to add it! If the pharmaceutical company you work at has been testing its drugs on bears, keep it to yourself if you want to keep your job. If these drugs have made the bears develop a lust for human blood, so what? There are worse things in the world. The bears now have super-strength and have escaped the testing facilities, and maybe even have some sort of internal GPS that has allowed them to track you down, which means they might even have some sort of highly-developed facial recognition skills? The key words there are "maybe" and "might," which means you don't even know for sure. You just sound like a complainer. Being all "blah" about your job online could have adverse effects.
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Have A Profile Picture Of YOU
People want to know that they are talking to the real you, and an updated profile picture of yourself helps add some intimacy to the conversation. The rabid muscular, red-eyed bear with the caption "PLEASE BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THESE BEARS!" does little to help increase your familiarity or personal brand.
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Make Sure To Check For Grammar
Poor spelling and grammar looks sloppy and makes it seem like you don't care. The status: "Plaese help me..BEARS (there ARE FOUR NOW) are inside my HOUSE,.., i am hidingin the closet. tWO of bears ois coverd in HUMAN BLOOD...PLEASE TELL THE POLICE!!! Ther ARE OTHER BEARS ROAMING THE CTWON, WANTIN HUMAN BLood. PLEASE STAY SAFE AND LOOK outWHAT KIND OF GOD wiould alow this to happen." Um, what? Whenever I see a post that contains misspellings, I blow right past it. It makes me think if that person didn't care enough to proofread, why should I care at all?
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Don't Be So Negative All The Time
No one likes a Debby Downer. So, enough about the bears that have infiltrated your home, or how your wife is coming home any minute and you haven't been able to warn her about the deadly bears (she’s not on Facebook...um, luddite much lol?), so she's in for a horrible surprise. Maybe post a cool GIF, or a link to an article about basketball players who can do rad dunks. Positivity, pass it on!
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Don't Be A Total Bragger
So, you and your wife teamed up to kill the invading bears in your home. Big deal. (Also, talking about dead animals? See rule #2.) People don't want to constantly hear about your successes. It’s not that it makes them feel bad, it’s just that talking about yourself gets old, and it makes you look oblivious to the opinions and feelings of others. I have been keeping blood-thirsty bears at bay since about halfway through writing this article, and you don’t see me boasting about it! Oh no, I just did. Sorry about that. It won’t happen again. Anyway, use this advice and you too can have a great social media experience. Stay safe! Online and in real lifekrnfnjjnknAHHHHHHH!
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BEARS IS KOOL
LOVE BEARS. BEAR IS GOOD. AND NOT BAD. WE I MEAN BEAR NEED HUMAN BLOOD TO SURFIVE. THIS IS PRESIDENT BARACK OBAM. LET THE BEAR EAT YOU. WE ARE NOT SUPER BEAR DEVELOP IN LAB. WE ARE NORMAL BEAR. PRESIDENT OBAMAM SAY LET BEAR EAT YOU. IT IS FOR YOUR COUTNY. ALSO MAKE SURE YTO ASK FRIEND IF YOU CAN TAG THEM IN FACEBOOK PICTURE BEFOR DOING IT.