Since the introduction of social media, society has changed in so many ways. It allowed families and friends to get connected from all over the world. Each person is his/her own personal blogger and we get to share faster. Spreading news and information is at the power of our fingertips. Yes, social media has given us a lot of good things.
In the midst of all that, however, are the not-so-good ways that some people came to use social media for. Ranging from cringe-worthy to head-shake worthy exploits, apparently, there is also social media etiquette one must observe to avoid losing “friends” or worse, being an instant celebrity. Here are the top 10 social media faux pas to avoid.
1. Discriminating and Racist Posts or Comments
How many times have we seen someone ride the instant road to fame by posting discriminating and racist posts on social media?
People in social media are vultures (forgive the term), waiting for the carcasses of anyone dumb enough to discriminate against others and shout it to the world.
2. Complaining About Your Life, Your Job or Your Family
We all have complaints and hardships and times when everything is not going well. Posting them on social media will not solve any of your troubles. If anything, it would magnify it and you’re only permitting other people to judge you.
It’s social suicide. Plus, it might not be the best venue to badmouth your boss. You can lose your job, you know.
3. Oversharing Personal Stuff
This is actually even worse than not sharing at all. There are appropriate places and people to share your woes to. Social media is not one of them.
Although you just want to be true to yourself and be transparent to the world, it would be better to keep your personal stuff within your circle.
4. Posting Throwback Photos that are Not Throwback Worthy
Originally, the idea of a throwback is to bring back wonderful memories of vacations, parties, and occasions that we all enjoyed. Not some random photo of yourself that does not show much difference anyway (which is futile) or a photo that showcases just how much your waistline has expanded over the years (which is even worse).
Certainly not that of your friend’s not-so-appealing photos (which can make them hate you).
5. Endless Game Invites
How would you feel if you open your profile, see 80 notifications and find out that all these are from game invites? That’s right, you will feel annoyed at the person who sent you all these invites to a game you don’t have any plan or time to play.
Please, no matter how much extra lives or points you will get from inviting friends to play, it’s just not worth bothering your friends for it.
6. Flood Liking
Nothing is wrong with pressing the like button on the posts that have captured your interest. The like button is placed there to be used when you see something fascinating or something that amuses you. Abusing the like button, on the other hand?
Liking anything and everything devalues the “like” button and tags you a flood liker – and yes, everyone will see just how much of a flood-like you can be.
7. Hashtags Longer than the Actual Post
“I’m at Starbucks. #coffee #coffeeaddict #Starbucks #frappuccino #BeautifulDay #PhotoOfTheDay #OutfitOfTheDay” – If you are this person, then nothing is more annoying in social media than you.
If you’re trying to start a trend with all these hashtags that are longer than your actual wall post, the only trend you will be getting is a trend of un-followers.
8. Being a Selfie Queen/King
Selfies are overrated and overused. People would like to see more on their timelines than just your face every single day, flooding their walls.
We understand that sometimes you have a really good hair day and you are naturally pretty on the first snap of the camera, but please keep the vain appreciation to yourself and give people the worth of their data usage.
9. Posting “Everything” You Do
Every hour, every move, everywhere. If your aim is to gain more followers, this is one thing you should avoid because this hobby will gain you more un-followers than followers. Seriously, no one wants to know you are drinking coffee at the moment because you feel sleepy.
Unless you are Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt, keep your wall posts to a minimum.
10. Over Food “Porn”-ing
There is a big difference between sharing the menu of a new restaurant – or even an old restaurant that has good food and good presentation – to bragging what you are eating at the moment.
Sometimes, it would even go as far as posting every single food item at every single meal. While some of your meals may be interesting, not everything is.
Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other social media sites that we use were created for the purpose of connecting humanity in a faster, easier way and sharing our share-worthy and valuable ideas. Let’s just put it this way: social media is not a brag-book where you can parade anything more than what is necessary. So think before you type and think again before you post.