Monday, October 13, 2014

Social Media Monday—Eight Social Media Updates You Should NEVER Share

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Social media is all about connections. It’s a digital community where relationships are built. IN this community, the relationship building takes place in much the same way as in a physical community. The foundational component is sharing—sharing lives, sharing thoughts, sharing hopes and dreams. But with all this sharing, there are still things we don’t need to know about one another.

I hate to say this, but I’ve seen all of these irritating updates show up in one or more of my social media feeds. My reaction on seeing these has ranged from mildly irritated, to what-was-she-thinking shock. I’d love for you to make note of these, and avoid them completely

8 Social Media Updates You Should NEVER Share
1. The stream of consciousness updates: Now that I’m up, I’m having coffee. Back from the shower and trying to decide what to wear. Dreading the mountain of laundry staring me in the face. Trust me, none of us care. So quit clogging the feed with visual noise.

2. The cliffhanger update: You’ve seen them, they’re those thinly veiled attempts for sympathy. I’m so angry I could spit. Why do people have to go out of their way to do rotten things. Crying in the corner.... Ninety-five percent of us are just irritated by these updates. The other five percent can’t resist the ploy and ask for more information. If you need to vent and can’t do it online, call a friend. (Just FYI, this also applies to those photos you might post of you doing something dangerous. The image to the right is one I found of our son while browsing my FB feed. It's a good way to give your mother gray hair, not to mention a stroke.)

3. The I’m on vacation updates: I’ve heard of so many instances where the homes of vacationers have been burglarized all because the family posted updates about their travels. Telling large groups of people your house is going to be vacant is an open invitation for a robbery. Be smart, share your vacation photos and stories after you get back home.

4. The vicious rant update: You’ve heard me say over and over again that you should never post anything negative about anyone online. That’s what I’m talking about here. It’s hard enough to mend relationships when you just speak the words. Putting them in writing will ensure you’ll be fighting this battle the rest of your life.

5. The Unverified pictures of missing/ill/ abused/dying children update: There is a lot of junk floating around social media. For some reason, certain sick people use emotional updates to further their own gains. They sign up for accounts under false names and use the likes and shares to build a presence online. When we don’t take time to check whether or not an update is true, we clog the feed and further the nefarious schemes of these lowlifes. (to verify an online story, visit http://www.snopes.com/info/whatsnew.asp)

6. The let me break it to you here update: We’ve all seen these, too. Glad to be alive, just totaled my car. Wow, look at this cool cut on my hand that’s dripping blood in the shape of a cross (yes, one of my boys sent this one). There are others, but you get the idea. Trust me, social media isn’t the way to break bad news, even if the end result was no big deal.

7. Specific information and pictures of the children in your life: This one is serious—life-threateningly serious. We live in a world that preys on children. I can’t stress enough the importance of censoring what you share about them online. This means being smart about everything from embedded geo codes in photos, to what schools they attend, and what activities they’re involved with. Be smart and keep the kids safe.

8. The invitation to play a game update: Now I admit this one is my personal peeve. But you might be surprised by the number of people who share my irritation. If someone I know chooses to play games, that’s fine. I’m not making any judgments here—I enjoy a good game of mahjong and 2048 as much as the next guy. But please don’t clog my feed with invitations to join you. If you need more lives and the only way you can get them is to invite friends to also play, be courteous and check with those friends first.

These are the list of things I never share online. I’d love to know what you’d add to the list.

Don’t forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

TWEETABLES


11 comments:

  1. #5 & #8 really get to me. I've also been known to hide people from my timeline because all they ever post are political rants. Never mind that I might agree with them in part, I just don't want that stuff covering my timeline.

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    1. Joan, that's a good one to add. Thanks for sharing! Blessings, E

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  2. Amen, amen, and amen! Just like Joan, I've hidden people from my timeline because of all their junk. FB is no place for anyone's dirty laundry or a play-by-play of their daily activities. I also don't enjoy seeing rashes, stitches, and open wounds. :( It's truly amazing how many people post pictures of their feet. What's up with that? Okay ... that's my rant for the day. :)

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    1. Andrea, I call it the anonymous driver syndrome. It's like when people get in the car they sometimes feel like they can do anything because they're not actually interacting in person. I see a lot of that on social media. Thanks for dropping by, Blessings, E

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  3. I've mistakenly done one of those and upset my grown granddaughter. It took soem tap dancing to get things settled down. :o}

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    1. Ane, I've been guilty about some of those above as well. Not all, thank goodness, but more than I'd like to admit to! Thanks for sharing, Blessings, E

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  4. I agree with your list, especially #1, 4, and 8. I'd like to add cursing, on any topic. I've read and seen good posts that I won't share b/c the writer just had to use a curse word.

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    1. Mary, that is so right! I'm definitely going to add that one to the list. Thanks so much for adding your thoughts, Blessings, E

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  5. A friend of mine would post #3 on social media. One time, she went to a retreat. Her daughter went by her apartment to feed and water my friend's dog. The dog was roaming around the front yard. My friend's apartment was broken into. I told her it was better to talk about where she had been.

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    1. I hear about this all the time. It's sad because it's so preventable. Thanks for stopping by and chiming in! Blessings, E

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  6. Thanks for the reminders Edie. I also have hidden people from my view due to their language and ranting. I don''t want to see a picture of your eggs from breakfast. :)

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