How to Use Social Media Responsibly
1.Ā Think before you post
Ā Ā Ā - What you say and post on the internet can leave an impression on those who see it. These posts can either represent or misrepresent you as a person, Iād rather have the former. Itās best that we articulate our words properly online and post videos and pictures that you think best represents you as a person.Ā
2.Ā Respect peopleās privacy
Ā Ā Ā - We should know that even on the internet, there are still boundaries we shouldnāt cross. We donāt coerce people to give information more than what they are willing to give, because that is invasion of privacy. Everyone has the right to keep personal informationĀ to themselves, and it is our job to respect that right.
3.Ā Observe the use of trigger warningsĀ
Ā Ā Ā - Putting trigger warnings on posts is a rather new netiquette that people are starting to make sense of. Posts regarding gore, racism, trauma, rape, suicide or abuse can be unsettling to read and see for most people, and can trigger a mental reaction that can make them uneasy or worse. A way to avoid this is by putting trigger warnings at the top of your post in a format like ātw//racismā.Ā
4. Donāt tolerate cyberbullying
Ā Ā Ā - Cyberbullying happens when an individual or a group of people abuse their freedom of speech on the internet and use it to cause mental disharmony to another individual. It might look normal seeing people be mean on the internet, but itās definitely not the right thing to do. If we see an act of cyberbullying directed to other people, the right action would be is to report the cyberbully and if itās ever directed to you, the best thing to do is block them immediately.Ā
5. Give the credit where itās due
Ā Ā Ā - Itās so easy to forget to give people credit for using their content on the internet, but itās completely wrong to do so. There are people who put so much effort with the content they post on the internet like artists, photographers, musicians and more. Using their content without tagging and thanking them would be such an unethical thing to do, adding to the fact that it is illegal.
