How to Behave on Social Media: Basic Rules for College Students
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If you’re intelligent enough to become a college student, you may think you’re exempt from making stupid mistakes. Permit me to insult your intelligence. You are just as capable of messing up as someone with an IQ below body temperature. This is especially true when it comes to misusing Social Media.
Just telling you to use common sense or the Golden Rule may not be enough to make sure you do not misunderstand the rules for using Social Media. That’s because an impulsive action on your part may not be taken back, just because you’re sorry.
The Internet is forever. Something that appears online cannot be expunged by a simple deletion. Practically everything that goes up there is archived, in one way or another. The last thing you need to find out is your own indiscreet action has now become viral, thanks to a quick acting person who republished your indiscretion.
Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You
Never, ever, post something to the Internet about someone else that you, yourself, would not like to have posted about you. In addition to the harm you could cause someone else, your bad action could be viewed by others as a lack of character on your part (or grounds for a lawsuit). Those others may include:
College admissions personnel
Prospective employers
Litigious attorneys hired by the person wronged
and so forth.
One Picture Is Worth a Thousand Lawsuits
You may think it’s funny to take a picture of someone in a compromising situation and upload it to a Social Media site. If that person thinks you besmirched his or her character, you could end up in court on the wrong end of a lawsuit or criminal prosecution. This is no joke.
You Can’t Take the Fifth After the Fact
Let’s suppose you took a pic of yourself doing something that’s clearly against the law and impulsively shared it online. That pic can become Exhibit A when you are arrested and prosecuted for breaking the law. You only have the right not to incriminate yourself (in the USA) after the fact, not before. If you MUST break the law, don’t document it and publish it.
How to Become a Registered Sex Offender
It’s easy! All you have to do is take a picture of, or describe in detail, a sexual encounter with an underage person. That’s child pornography, under the law. You don’t get off because you, yourself, may be underage. All that means is your status as a sex offender will follow you around after you reach the age of majority.
Character Self-Assassination
You may feel it’s within your rights to express yourself in any way you choose. However, if you publish your expressions online, you could be liable to actions by those who are associated with you or are harmed by your actions. This includes:
Putting up hate speech.
Violating the rules and regulations of any association, school, employer or community to which you belong.
Making terroristic threats.
These offenses can follow you around for the rest of your life. Many employers are reviewing the online character of prospective employees and declining to employ those who demonstrate a bad character.
You Don’t Have the Right to be Wrong…
…and you don’t have the right to be rude. Make sure you avoid the appearance of same online. While the instant gratification of Social Media is alluring, it can also lead to a permanent black mark on your record as a person if you abuse it.
When in Doubt, Don’t
If you have the sneaking suspicion that what you are about to post is questionable, stop. You will never regret the bad things you didn’t do. You may always regret the bad things you DID do.
Image sources: http://flic.kr/p/e1yRKg.
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