Social Media Survival Guide

Alexander Delgado

When i am online people mostly perceive me as a gamer or someone who likes to watch internet videos and stuff, it is true, but what they do not know is that i also watch the news, i find internet posts and comments and also do a lot of other fun stuff when i am in the internet. It is a huge other world, separated from reality where unlike the real world, anything is possible. You can say i am most likely a poster or commenter, that is what people would say in the internet right?, but in reality everyone is almost the same, they post, they comment, they argue, they solve, but there are some people who are not cautious of what they post, and that it can be a huge impact on the people who get affected by it in any way. Before posting or commenting or doing anything in the internet, you must remind yourself that everyone in the world is gonna watch you, and that anything you say can affect someone else positively or negatively (always remember that). You should also consider what will happen if you lost control over a post you did, or a blog. People might wanna use it against you, or for their own benefit. You can lose control over anything you do on the internet in matter of seconds, heck, at the same time you post something it is in danger, you must always be cautious. Personally i think that when you go to a job that requires you to have social media background checks, i would say OK, but i am still concerned because they will be looking through my stuff and what would happen if some of my stuff gets exposed or even worse, people make lies about my own personal stuff? ( What do you think). This next theme is a common misconception on the internet, freedom of speech. Some people think that because they have the right of freedom of speech they can say whatever they want, that is totally wrong. The freedom of speech right says:” the right to communicate one's opinions and ideas without fear of government retaliation or censorship, but sometimes including any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used.” Not to offend or harass people because of the likes of someone ( it has it’s limits). Another theme that needs to be talked about is Online Trolling, it can be funny but it can also bother a lot of people. Internet Trolls are people that start arguments trying to upset people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community. Now there is a way of stopping Trolls, simply just ignore them, that is all it takes. Anonymous posting, the act of posting something without a trace, data, and/or personal information. Anonymous posting has its own benefits like, being able to post something without being noticed, not having to worry about people trolling or harassing you due to your post, and basically not be noticed. Some cons of this is that people might blame other people because of not knowing who posted, due to not knowing who made the post, and the “severity” of the post it can make a big fuzz around the internet and even reach the world.    So if possible, post good and meaningful stuff online, not just any random/ harmful comment, be polite, be honest and express your feelings without hurting anybody. Thank you.