Social media has allowed us to keep up with everyone like friends from high school, out-of-state family and favorite pop culture stars all just a touch-of-a-screen away. This leads to every user questioning how much they should put out on the internet. While everyone’s vulnerability levels are different, here’s a list of some basic guidelines I find helpful.
Do brand yourself.
Everyone is unique and social media is a perfect way to show your individuality! Many people you will meet may have already seen your profile on social media and will have judged you. This can be a positive or a negative thing but as long as you brand yourself correctly, this will be a great thing.
Don’t be fake.
There’s nothing worse than meeting or knowing a person in life and seeing that their social media profiles don’t match them at all. You gotta be yourself! Putting out a false image of yourself won’t do you or any of your followers any good. This can lead to stress to uphold a certain look and a decrease in your self-confidence. Your followers want to see you thriving in your own way, there’s no need to post a gazillion photos of you partying if you’re a stay-in type of gal or vice versa. Embrace yourself!
Do be private to a degree.
Everyone in life faces some struggles. In a culture where it’s custom to share every little moment on social media, it’s important to recognize that some moments should be kept private. Yes, you should be your genuine self on social media but your entire life shouldn’t be a feed.
Don’t let everyone follow you.
Does your ex from middle school that you haven’t talked to in years need to follow you? Or the popular mean girl from high school? Or that mutual friend of a friend? Probably not. Your followers should have some kind of significance to your life. Think about it – if you have to click on their profile to remember who they are each time they post something, they probably shouldn’t be following you. This always goes the other way around; you should only follow people whose feeds actually interest you. Don’t #follow4follow.
Do be comfortable with what you post.
This one is entirely up to you. There isn’t a wrong answer. You just need to be comfortable with what you post. Each user should understand that once you put it online, it’s on there for forever – no take-backs! Even people who don’t follow you can see what you post if someone screenshots it. Personally, I feel comfortable retweeting political articles/tweets, whereas my mother would never do that. As a user, you have to draw the line between your actual self and your online persona.
Don’t take it too seriously.
Social media shouldn’t be a hassle. It should be a fun way to stay connected with others. These rules are loose and shouldn’t inhibit any user from enjoying their unique profile. So go online and put yourself out there!
All GIFs courtesy of Media.Giphy.