Social Media Monday—7 Situations When Sharing a Live Social Media Update is the WRONG Choice to Make

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

No, I haven’t actually changed my mind about the value of social media.

Yes, you read the title of this blog post correctly. The queen of social media is suggesting that more is NOT always better.

What I am suggesting is that we need to show a little balance. There are times to connect online and there are equally important times to live in the moment—without worrying about how to make your experience into a tweet or Facebook update.

Today I want to share some specific instances when you should put down your smart phone and just experience life.

7 Situations When Sharing a Live Social Media Update is the WRONG Choice to Make

1. When You’re on Vacation. Yes, I know it’s fun to share those vacation photos, but it’s a huge safety risk. Burglars troll social media to find homes that are empty. Don’t become one of the statistics. Wait until you get home to share those travel experiences on social media.

2. When You’re on Retreat. If your goal is to get away to retreat, relax and/or rekindle, do that. This isn’t the time to let people know what you’re doing. Again, wait until you’re back home to share your experience.

3. When You’re the Guest at Someone Else’s Special Day. If you’re at a wedding, birth of a new baby, graduation or another event, don’t usurp your host’s prerogative. It’s just plain rude to deny your host the privilege of crowing about good news on social media.

4. When You’re in a Group with Young Children. The world is a scary, dangerous place. And often the focus of that comes at our kids. I never post a picture—or even an update—of an underage child without the parent’s permission. Some people are fine with me sharing, others definitely are not. I make no judgment either way. This is a parental decision, and I refuse to go against that.

5. When You’re at a Formal Event. I’m thinking, symphony, play, awards ceremony, etc. This isn’t the time to whip out your smart phone and share what’s happening with your friends and followers. The only exception would be if the hosts of the event (think Oscars or the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference Awards banquet for example) encourage live social media shares.

6. When You’re at a Meal and/or Hanging Out with Friends. I’m sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine. I absolutely hate looking at a table of people, unengaged with each other, busy with smart phones. When you’re physically present with someone, give them the courtesy of being fully engaged.

7. When You’re at Church or a Spiritual Event. This type of event probably isn’t the best place to begin tweeting and updating social media. Again, there are exceptions to this. If social media updates are encouraged, you have more freedom. Although this isn’t exactly in my comfort zone when it comes to sharing live social media updates.

As I said above, it’s more important to experience life fully than to share constantly on social media. This is my list, how would you add to it?

Don’t forget to join the conversation!

Blessings,

Edie

TWEETABLES

7 Situations when sharing a live #socialmedia update is theWRONG choice to make – via @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Sharing life thru #socialmedia is great – butthere are times to pass on live updates – via @EdieMelson (Clickto Tweet)