Social media is an interesting place to be! Gone are the days when connecting with someone overseas required using a dial-up modem that was connected to your main telephone line. Nowadays, you need stable wifi or cellular data and you are online within seconds!
The advancement of the internet has opened Pandora's box of possibilities such as video calls, emails, video streaming, shopping, listening to music, and of course, browsing social media.
Social media has made connecting and interacting with anyone so easy! It takes just a second to follow someone, like their posts, comment on them, share them, and even tag them. But there are times when people can misuse their freedom and cause a stir or controversy with their posts.
Keep on reading to know the basic tips and social media etiquette to keep in mind to main decorum online.
Everything That You Should Avoid on Social Media
Here are a few things to keep in mind to keep your social media platforms controversy-free and a safe space for everyone who visits them.
Favour A Particular Group: While social media is free to use and promotes freedom of speech, expressing your thoughts freely shouldn't come at the expense of disappointing anyone.
For example, if you have some sensitive thoughts that might upset the sentiments of a religious group or anger a political party, then do not post them publicly for everyone to see.
Posting Insensitive Content: It's very easy to express your disappointment online by tagging someone in a post/story or by simply commenting. don't be that person!
You will not only be spreading unnecessary negativity and hate but will also encourage others to do so.
Spreading False Information: Posting information without fact-checking should be avoided at all costs as it can cause inestimable harm to a personality or a brand.
Once the false news starts to spread, there is no control over it. These types of malpractices have often led to numerous celebratory death hoaxes in the past.
Capitalising On A Tragedy: Using someone's tragedy for personal gain is one of the worst things you can do on social media. A lot of times, brands tend to use a recently deceased celebrity's picture to promote their product or services; we miss so and so, here's a picture of them wearing our this boots from our that collection.
A recent example of companies capitalising on tragedy is Zara's latest clothing campaign which featured models with 'sad' backgrounds that seem to mimic the current Gaza situation. As predicted, it angered a lot of people online with thousands threatening to boycott the brand.
Don't Confuse People: Have a clear idea about what your social media account entails and what you will be talking about. Spamming users with unnecessary stuff will not only lead to lower engagement rates but also more unfollows. Make sure you do not have a confusing Business Account that doesn't know what they are talking about.
Don't Attack: A lot of times, we see personal IDs with zero or minimum followers spamming users online by sliding in their DMD offering services or attacking someone online as no one can discover who is behind the personal account. People can not only block you but also multiple reports can lead to you losing your accounts (and possibly other linked accounts) as well.
