Social Networking – A Few Rules of Decency

Recently, people have become accustomed to publicize their own opinions. If we can limit what we want to say to less than 140 characters, we can tweet it to our Twitter followers; if we come across a website, video, or picture that’s too good not to share, we can post it so that our Facebook friends can see it; and if we have an extremely poignant, insightful, and lengthy message to impart, we can make a new entry on our blogs. Don’t get me wrong: I love this idea of sharing our life events and have seen firsthand the incredible amount of good that’s possible by taking the information from the mainstream and putting it directly into the people’s hands. We are now more like a global community than ever before. That being said, there are certain codes that we all, as citizens of this global community, should abide by. The progression of this sharing among this global community must become more and more intelligent and amusing, and less mood-motivated. Otherwise, the great potential we have of sharing our lives with others via the Internet will become merely arbitrary. As a person, you are very interesting. By following the three simple rules mentioned here, your online life will remain interesting as well. It’s our responsibility to create an engaging atmosphere for our online friends. Some things to keep in mind are:

#1- STOP BEING BORING. As an Internet user, I can safely assure you that when I browse the Internet, I am seeking more interesting things than my daily grind. I think most people feel this way. All posts/tweets/blog entries shouldn’t have entertainment as their driving factor, but come on. Treat anything you say on the Internet as if you are conversing with someone. If you have a conversation with me like this: “Went to Wal-Mart. Got a good parking spot. My shopping card had a squeaky wheel. They were out of milk. Guess I’ll come back tomorrow,” then my next thought would be how to politely but curtly end this conversation and how to avoid ever speaking to you again. The point of social media is not to make you an entertainer of everyone, but there are certain topics that inhibit conversation and insight and ones that make you wonder if the Internet’s potential died already and you with it.

#2- PICTURES OF FOOD SHOULD BE POSTED RARELY (IF EVER). I understand if you’ve spent an entire weekend baking and decorating a cake for your daughter’s wedding, or if you live in Turkey and found a Cajun restaurant so you can get boiled crawfish in the Middle East.. If that’s the case, post that picture. However, the smorgasbord of pictures of food on social networking sites is sad. Thanks for advertising your meal, but beyond the five seconds of anyone looking at the picture, it is rendered unimportant. Social media has much more a potential than “Ooooo, look at this plate!” I fear that as easily as pictures of food are irrelevant, so too will social media be. In other words, try to post things of a lasting and meaningful value; pictures of food, for the most part, are neither.


And most importantly…


#3 DON’T COMPLAIN. Look, if something bad happens, I’m not saying it’s always wrong to share. I am talking about those people who post how mad or sad they are one or more times a week. Whenever we think we have a captive audience, it becomes easy for us to unfurl our anger/sadness in hopes that our tantrums will reach understanding, comforting, and validating yes-men. Unfortunately, most people who read your posts of extreme displeasure probably won’t care. Counseling jobs are hard to find; can that be because instead of venting on another person, we are venting to anyone unfortunate enough to see our posts on social media? Some people are very empathic and understanding and will invite us to share our burdens with them. The majority of the Internet population doesn’t care. It’s important to differentiate what it means to be human and what it means to use social media. Do both, please. Just don’t confuse possible Facebook affirmation with human understanding. In other words, when using social networking, create posts that reflect your constant personality, not your fleeting emotions.


It’s a safe bet to say that I myself have done all of these things at some point. I’m not the model of etiquette on social networking, but I still believe that social networking has huge potential. But, as Darwin knows, sometimes potential is reached by the extinction of a few dodos. These acts are the evolutionary equivalent of dodos. ext time someone posts a picture of a cheeseburger, simply ignore it. Without affirmation, these acts will die off on their own. Do your part for the Internet community.


PS. Disagree with or want to add to this list? Leave a comment then.