The unwritten rules of Social Media
For anyone with an Internet connection, it’s common knowledge there are unwritten rules when surfing the World Wide Web. Before the age of social networking, these rules were plain and simple, and widely followed. We unanimously scrolled past the 24 pages of terms and conditions before agreeing to download software. Internet history was deleted just in case of death and subsequent embarrassment of finding out what is really typed into search engines. And pictures from the Internet were never saved as their proper file name, rather a lazy swipe of the keyboard and quick enter of “addhfhss.jpg”.
However, as we launched our lives into the realm of social networking, these unwritten rules have become somewhat blurred. And the repeat offenders are often the technology natives themselves. It’s hard to keep up when you’re tweeting and tagging and tumblring. These unwritten rules, which are now being recorded for future purposes, are:
- Please know the difference between “your” and “you’re”. As an obsessive-compulsive grammar freak, I often think, “you use proper grammar on the Internet? Excuse me while I take my clothes off.” Grammar is sexy. Don’t deny it.
- STOP WRITING EVERYTHING IN CAPS. I HATE IT WHEN YOU YELL AT ME THROUGH CYBERSPACE. IT’S UNNECESSARY. AND ANNOYING.
- Your Facebook friends do not need another vague status update. Sure, your heart’s broken and we can see that through the amount of quotes you’ve been posting. But please, Facebook is a public domain and majority of your friends probably don’t care anyway. Stop it.
- Txt spk is never okay. The whole ‘language’ has become obsolete with the Nokia 3210’s. There is a reason why there’s 26 letters on the keyboard. Please use them proactively.
- Please do not upload another photo of yourself. There’s a small line between confidence and narcissism. And it’s often overstepped with the amount of ‘selfies’ you post on your preferred social networking site. Also, half naked photos are not socially acceptable, they scream “tool”.
Do you have any unwritten rules you’d like to raise when it comes to social media etiquette?
