Social Media Etiquette: My Take on Things

By now, almost everyone is engaged with social media in one form or another. Even the most anti-technology Grandmas are getting on Facebook so that they can see photos of their grandkids. As social media has grown, so have the unspoken (though not always followed) "rules" for posting and interacting with others. So, for those of you who feel like you struggle to know right from wrong, here are some tips on how to stay appropriate, interesting, and awesome on social media:

1) NEVER TYPE IN ALL CAPS, BECAUSE IT MAKES IT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE YELLING EVERYTHING.

This relevant comic brought to you by the Oatmeal. Go visit and laugh! http://theoatmeal.com/

To demonstrate the atrocity that is caps lock, part of the following elaboration to the above statement will be typed in all caps.

WHEN WE READ A BOOK, WE OFTEN USE PUNCTUATION, SPACING AND WORDING TO DETERMINE THE TONE AND MEANING OF A TEXT. WE DO THE SAME THING IN SOCIAL MEDIA, BUT MORE IN-DEPTH. SINCE IT'S AN INFORMAL PLATFORM, WE CAN USE CAPITALS, ITALICS, BOLD TEXT, FONT, EMOTICONS, SPACING, AND A PLETHORA OF OTHER THINGS TO EXPRESS TONE THROUGH TEXT.

For example, the following two statements are changed by the simple edition of an emoticon and an ellipse,  OH AND DON'T FORGET CAPS LOCK.

"YOU'RE SUCH A KNUCKLE-HEAD!"        vs.        "You're such a knuckle-head... :P"

The first statement would be said to someone after a major screw-up, and implies that the other person is in BIG trouble (notice the use of caps right there)! The second is more of a snide remark you would send to a friend after she told you she lost her keys for the third time today.

So please, folks, use your caps lock responsibly.

PS

If you're one of those people who needs to type in caps to see better, there are accessibility options that can help with that :)

2) Don't be a TMI-er... please... for the sake of others. 

It's amazing to me what some people post online. Things like:

"Well it looks like I got the all clear from the GYNO today! Who wants to go hit the club with me!?!! ROFLOL!!!11"

Personal information is just that... personal. The internet does not need to know what color your phlegm is, or that you just lost track of the toenail you clipped, or even what kind of dump you just took. Here is an example where one TMI-er eloquently shares with us his/her pooping struggles:

On a more serious note, be sure not to share OTHER people's personal information either. If someone has a major life event, don't post about it before they do. You'll either steal their thunder, or worse, share something they didn't want all of Facebook to know.

If someone is your baby-daddy, you are going to break up with your girlfriend, or you're about to do something else major that involves an intimate conversation with another person, chances are that you really shouldn't post it on social media.

Also, please do them a favor and have that conversation in person. Social media is for casual interaction, not life-altering conversations.

3) You have spell check, grammar check, and a full keyboard. Please use real words and proper grammar. 

Everyone is human, and we're all going to make typographical errors every once in a while. Using the wrong homophone (things like "to, too, two" and "you're and your" or "they're, their, and there") is understandable. Misspelling words like immunoelectrophoresis  or even things like definitely (some people mean definitely and say "defiantly") is ok.

 Bt weN ur tYpin lik DIs...

just... no... please, stop.  

Remember, your post doesn't have to be 100% perfect, but making sure the way you write things isn't distracting from the actual text is always a good thing.

4) Please, keep it PG-13.

This rule is one that some people would probably argue with. You have a right to share whatever you want on Facebook, or any other social media platform, but you should always assume that anyone can see it. You never know who your mutual friends are, or when a potential employer (or current employer) is going to stalk you on Facebook. It's scary, but I believe that as a general rule you should assume that anything you put on your profile could be seen by anyone, anywhere, anytime. That includes kids, your grandma, your in-laws, and many other people you wouldn't want to leave with a bad impression of your character. 

WARNING: The following example contains some words that might make your grandmother blush.

Besides the fact that this rule covers your butt "just incase", keeping it PG-13 also ensures that you're keeping it classy. And let's be real, who doesn't want to be classy?

5) Try to be just a little sensitive, please.

The following Tweet demonstrates what we call "social insensitivity": 

Not everyone has perfect tact, but if you just do a little bit of reflection before you post, you might realize that what you thought was funny might be taking it just a little too far.

The sensitivity rule also applies to sharing. If there is an important, life-changing event in your life, please make sure your loved ones know before Facebook does.

Yeah... that's kinda awkward...

If you're not sure if what you're posting would be ill-received or tactless, you may want to reconsider posting it. 

In Conclusion...

The five offenses above are only a few of the blunders people make on social media. It may seem scary, and after reading this you may be afraid to post anything because you're convinced you'll mess something up. But fear not, friends. With a little common sense, a dash of thought, and just a pinch of good judgement, you'll be interacting on social media with the best of 'em!

What are your favorite social media etiquette guidelines? What annoys you on social media? Leave a comment below!