Social Media Etiquettes
The world is ever-growing, humans are still brimming with ideas, and that leads technology being
on the upraise. Although as technology advances, our social structures are being challenged, before we
would’ve used couriers to deliver our letters and that will take a few days for them to arrive to our loved
ones, but now with the advancement of our technology it only takes mere seconds to send someone our
deep thoughts even if you’re countries apart.
“’Social Media’ as we call it, is a collective term used for websites, applications, etc. that focus more into
communication, community and content sharing.” (Social Media; Ben Lutkevich). The use of social media is
on a rampant and people are finding ways to express themselves more, although every so often people
misuse their freedom on social media, and leads it into bad situations. A study I found shows that: Cyber
bullying, digital identity, impact of digital footprints, and use of inappropriate social media are gaining
attention in K-12 schools… 17% started using social media at the age of nine or younger, 40% reported
that their parents did not monitor their social media use, which calls for the need of cyber-security
education. (Middle school students’ social media use; Wilkins P. et al. 213). Because of this people should
be more aware with what they convey and so, there should be etiquettes in play so that users of social
media users do not harm others and themselves.
First is; Exercise the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. Speak with and
treat someone online as you would speak with and treat him/her face-to-face.
Social media users should still adhere to common decency, even if the person you are trying to
communicate to is not in front of you. People forget this because since they’re behind a screen, they think
they are immune into having predicaments. Hence, treat someone how you want to be treated.
Second is; Remember everything you post is public; it doesn't matter whether or not you delete the
post: if you've published it, it's traceable. Plus, when you post things online, you're creating a digital
footprint. A digital footprint is the trail of stuff you leave behind when you're online.
Leaving digital footprints is a big problem, innumerable social media users think that if they post something
in the web it can be deleted, but usually it will leave some digital footprints, and those digital footprints can
be used against you as a form of blackmailing, a big example of this is; Cancel Culture.
And third is; Don't post a picture or video of someone else without his or her permission. Also don't
snap pictures or a video someone without his or her permission. Just because there is a camera on your
phone it doesn't give you the right to snap a shot of someone. Don't post a picture of people on-line without
their consent. Even if you do have their consent, make sure that the picture isn't inappropriate.
Numerous of social media users, use their social media for sharing their ideas, hobbies, etc. to people that
they relate to, and they even share their personal moments with people they deemed intimate friends.
However, some social media users mishandle their social freedom on the internet, users sometimes share
inappropriate materials, personal information, and even their own security. Social media users should not
give in into peer pressure, although hard sometimes, they should not stay ignorant of these situations if and
when their personal information is at cost.
Social media is a great feat of human technology, it helped people all-around the world to build
connections with each other. Although, the world is in a new age, and because of that our social norms
should also bring new norms to help bring order. Having social media etiquettes is a must, so that users
know how to act, and what they should and can share and what they can’t share, and most importantly is to
know the limits of their privacy in the internet (which is small). Social media will still and will be here for a
couple more generations, and so we should treat it with care and respect, for others’ sake and your sake.
Citations/References:
Martin, F., Wang, C., Petty, T., Wang, W., & Wilkins, P. (2018). Middle School Students’ Social Media
Use. Journal of Educational Technology & Society , 21(1), 213–224.
[Link]
Top 20 Social Networking Etiquette Tips for Teens . (2015). Psychology Today.
[Link]
tips-teens
Wigmore, I. (2019). What is social media? - Definition from [Link] . [Link].
[Link]
