It's everywhere, social media has now become the forum where even your job interviewers would follow you, trying to decipher if the information you give about yourself is correct or not. So, like it or not, all the online platforms you use to connect with your friends is also a place where your friends, friends of friends and the rest of the world sees you. It's a little celebrity platform of yours, where first impressions make a ton of difference. Here are a couple of dos and don'ts to make your life better online.
I should not even be writing this, but really. If you are as average as I am, show that. It's not a pretty thing to happen when the people who know you realise what hollow husk of a person you are. Just be honest about yourself. Reclusive if you want, but honest.
Don't try to be a smart Aleck. Nobody likes a know-it-all anywhere.
Don't try to be the person who tries to be an expert about everything. This does not mean you need to hold back valuable information, but don't be that guy or girl who lives under the self-assumed, umbrella of enlightenment.
Have a sense of dignity, and stop bringing it down for petty arguments.
Come on, nobody likes 5-year-old arguments spamming their home page. Don't join the league of people who don't have valid opinions. Even more so, do not bring yourself down to their level of stupid. Seriously not worth your time or self-respect.
How rude could we possibly come off if we do not return a greeting? And, how much would it hurt to follow the same kind of pleasantries online? Return the kind gestures people treat you to, it's how courtesy works. Social media is a place for 'social' activities. Do not be grumpy online.
Anything put up on the internet is going to stay there. Forever.
No amount of deleting is going to help you. Once you put something up on the internet, it can be dug out and read, and re-read. Be careful what you share. Imagine you win the Grammy's and people begin sharing an old image of you, drunk in a bathtub. Not very glamorous, right?