Social Media Survival Guide

My online appearance is pretty boring. Mostly because i am inactive on all my social media accounts.I think people perceive me as a just another inactive account on social media that should get deleted since i rarely post and like pictures.Before i post any picture, i consider how good the picture looks or how funny the post is  and i use that to try to determine how many likes that post will get. I also consider what other people might think or say about the post.

There are both good and bad things about being apart of the “social media community”. One of the pros is that you are able to interact with a wider range of people. Also, being apart of social media is fun. You have to admit,sharing pictures and videos and seeing pieces of other people’s live keeps us entertained. Although there are pros to social media, there are also negative. When you are on social media you are sharing parts of life. When posting a picture, after you hit that “post” button you lose all control of where that post may go, which ultimately can have a negative impact on you. ‘Lack of Control’, ‘Permanence’, and ‘Immediacy’ are an example of negative impacts that being apart of the “Social Media Community”. Online, ‘Lack of Control’ means that when you post something you lose all control of where that post may end up and who that post might end up with. ‘Permanence’ means something being permanently online. ‘Immediacy’ refers to how fast something gets spread or post online.All of these things impact our online lives in some way.One way we can be negatively impacted by these things is when it comes to finding a job

Employers can check the applicant's social media accounts and take what they find into consideration. I have mixed feelings about an employer doing social media background checks. One one hand, i think it is okay because i think the employer has a right to know what type of person they are considering hiring. By looking on social media, you are able to see a different side of the person that they would not show during the interview. But on the other hand, it isn’t the employer’s business what that person does or how they act outside of the workplace. As long as the person is coming to work and doing what they are supposed to do, there shouldn’t be a problem.

A term often used and abused online is ‘freedom of speech’,but little people actually know what it means. The definition of ‘freedom of speech’ reads, “the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint.” But if that was the case, then things like, Fighting Words and Defamation would not be unconstitutional. Fighting Words mean any words that would most likely make the who are they directed towards commit an act of violence. Defamation means using lies to damage the good reputation of someone. In my opinion, if there was really a such thing as freedom of speech then these thing would not be unconstitutional because they would have the right to say anything they want without there being any consequences.

When you online, be  on the lookout for ‘Internet Trolls’.An Internet Troll is someone who post comments with the sole purpose to upset and disrupt the conversation. The goal of a troll is to get a response or reaction out of a person. They will lie,exaggerate, and offend just to do so. To deal with internet trolls is simple: just ignore them. Since their goal is to just get a reaction out of you,don’t give them one. This will eventually put a stop to Internet Trolls.

I don’t think that you  can post anonymously on social media. Anything that you post online can be traced back to you by the information that you used to sign up for the account.When using social media keep these tips in mind: Think about how what you are posting makes you look, do you like it?,Think about how your post might be perceived, and finally, Don’t pay attention to internet trolls.