by Edie Melson @EdieMelson
Social media is all about connections. It’s a digital community where relationships are built. IN this community, the relationship building takes place in much the same way as in a physical community. The foundational component is sharing—sharing lives, sharing thoughts, sharing hopes and dreams. But with all this sharing, there are still things we don’t need to know about one another.
I hate to say this, but I’ve seen all of these irritating updates show up in one or more of my social media feeds. My reaction on seeing these has ranged from mildly irritated, to what-was-she-thinking shock. I’d love for you to make note of these, and avoid them completely.
8 Social Media Updates You Should NEVER Share
- The stream of consciousness updates: Now that I’m up, I’m having coffee. Back from the shower and trying to decide what to wear. Dreading the mountain of laundry staring me in the face. Trust me, none of us care. So quit clogging the feed with visual noise.
- The cliffhanger update: You’ve seen them, they’re those thinly veiled attempts for sympathy. I’m so angry I could spit. Why do people have to go out of their way to do rotten things. Crying in the corner…. Ninety-five percent of us are just irritated by these updates. The other five percent can’t resist the ploy and ask for more information. If you need to vent and can’t do it online, call a friend. (Just FYI, this also applies to those photos you might post of you doing something dangerous. The image to the right is one I found of our son while browsing my FB feed. It’s a good way to give your mother gray hair, not to mention a stroke.)
- The I’m on vacation updates: I’ve heard of so many instances where the homes of vacationers have been burglarized all because the family posted updates about their travels. Telling large groups of people your house is going to be vacant is an open invitation for a robbery. Be smart, share your vacation photos and stories after you get back home.
- The vicious rant update: You’ve heard me say over and over again that you should never post anything negative about anyone online. That’s what I’m talking about here. It’s hard enough to mend relationships when you just speak the words. Putting them in writing will ensure you’ll be fighting this battle the rest of your life.
- The Unverified pictures of missing/ill/ abused/dying children update: There is a lot of junk floating around social media. For some reason, certain sick people use emotional updates to further their own gains. They sign up for accounts under false names and use the likes and shares to build a presence online. When we don’t take time to check whether or not an update is true, we clog the feed and further the nefarious schemes of these lowlifes. (to verify an online story, visit http://www.snopes.com/info/whatsnew.asp)
- The let me break it to you here update:We’ve all seen these, too. Glad to be alive, just totaled my car. Wow, look at this cool cut on my hand that’s dripping blood in the shape of a cross (yes, one of my boys sent this one). There are others, but you get the idea. Trust me, social media isn’t the way to break bad news, even if the end result was no big deal.
- Specific information and pictures of the children in your life:This one is serious—life-threateningly serious. We live in a world that preys on children. I can’t stress enough the importance of censoring what you share about them online. This means being smart about everything from embedded geo codes in photos, to what schools they attend, and what activities they’re involved with. Be smart and keep the kids safe.
- The invitation to play a game update:Now I admit this one is my personal peeve. But you might be surprised by the number of people who share my irritation. If someone I know chooses to play games, that’s fine. I’m not making any judgments here—I enjoy a good game of mahjong and 2048 as much as the next guy. But please don’t clog my feed with invitations to join you. If you need more lives and the only way you can get them is to invite friends to also play, be courteous and check with those friends first.
These are the list of things I never share online. I’d love to know what you’d add to the list.