Oh Social Media, thou art a mean deity.
I actually had to block two strangers from my Facebook page this week because they left nasty commentary to my admittedly heated post about a local man who is both a murderer and serial rapist.
I forgot one of my first rules of life.
Anger calls out to anger.
Fortunately I regained my senses, took down the post, blocked the dorks, and dealt with my anger in the retro way…venting with friends.
So my post this week is about Social Media and You.
I want to touch on the few things people who weren’t born in the age of social media repeatedly asked me. Why? And Should I?
My answer is yes but dip your toe in first. It isn’t for everyone and just like meeting new people in the real world it’s going to be fun, frustrating, and full of rejection.
As is my usual quirkiness I tend to do things in list form.
1: Know why you are using social media.
Are you just trying to reach out and connect to others? Do you just want to preach to the choir? Ruminate woes with like-minded people? Meet new friends you don’t have to physically be in the same room with? Make new friends you eventually want to share with? Promote a business or hobby?
2: Remember that what you put on the web becomes available to everyone.
This includes your family, employers, and enemies. Even when you take security measures and click the right buttons. Don’t post anything you can’t live with. You may think your e-mails and IM’s are sacred between you and someone else but that’s only as long as the two of you get along, which brings me too…
3: Catfish, Scammers and Cyberbullies lurk everywhere.
This includes all forms of phising, trolls, and blackmail. If you don’t know what it is look it up. And remember that it isn’t just you. Everyone on social media will eventually encounter one of these people just the same as you do in real life.
4: People are wrong on the Internet and you will be wrong too.
This doesn’t mean you have to correct them, answer them, or share your opinion. Know the etiquette of each social media and be aware that no one agrees on what the rules are. Apologize when needed, use that edit button if you need to fix a mistake, and delete when necessary. Remember what I said about anger calling to anger?
5: You don’t have to like everyone you meet, and everyone doesn’t have to like you so don’t take it personally.
You are going to have some terrible encounters. You are going to have great ones. You are going to need a break from social media every now and then.
I could sum up everything in one simple sentence.
Take care of yourself, and don’t be a jerk.
See you next week.
Kerrie
Image is A Rehearsal In Fairyland by Richard Doyle.
geekgirlgoddess 