ALL OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS OPEN YOUR LIFE’S STORY TO THE WHOLE WORLD. AND THERE WOULD BE MANY PEOPLE WHO WILL LOOK AT ALL YOUR LIFE ACTIVITIES WITH A FRIENDLY EYE. BUT, SOME ARE LIKE AN INTRUSIVE NEIGHBOUR WHO WATCHES YOUR EVERY MOVE.
It’s cool to be on Facebook, tweet about your daily routine, blab about your personal experiences, show off to your friends and family. Sharing is great. It gives a person a sense of confidence and shows the world what an outgoing and fun person you are. It tells everyone, that you have a very cool lifestyle, but sharing with the world – that’s might become da dangerous story.
All of the social media platform – Facebook, twitter, chats, photo sites etc, all of these mediums are open source for your life’s story globally. And there would be many people who will look at all your life activities in the friend zone. there would many more – multiples of more, who will like to look into your life –like an intrusive neighbour who watches your every move. At least at home, you can draw your curtains. But once you have posted something on Facebook, tweeted your picture at a party, written nasty things about your boss and friends, assuming that you are doing so to a restricted group of friends, you are opening the window for the world to peep into your life. And that too, with your permission. That’s why one must use the social medium with utmost care. Few personal rules that one must observe.
Rules to be followed
1) Don’t put extremely personal pictures on the web. Especially those that show you in places or positions that might compromise your self respect or expose your personal space.
2) Don’t speak ill about bosses, co-workers, your job, your company. Companies keep track of their all employee’s reprimanded at work or worse get fired.
3) Don’t post lies about people, no matter how juicy the gossip is. Cyber laws are very strict these days and you could find yourself at the end of a legal complaint.
4) Don’t share too much personal information – birth dates, home address, dates when you are vacationing, pictures of your home, your car etc. There are identity hackers who can easily take all of your information and steal your identity. Worst if they have access to your credit card, they can illegally shop with it, leaving you with a huge bill.
5) Sustain personal and professional decorum at all times. Be funny, but be respectful. State your point of view but with dignity and without bashing other people.
A crazy offshoot of this very vibrating medium is that creates a sense of competitiveness – how many friends or followers you have, how many likes your posts get, how many people comment on your posts, how many share etc. People start measuring their sense of likeability with these mathematical metrics, which is great for a marketing company, but not great for your personal life. 2000 friends on Facebook does not mean you have 2000 friends!
The biggest thing that social media has given us visibility window to reach out to our friends and family across geographical barriers. It allows us to reconnect with school friends, renew friendships, make new friends and build an ever wider social support system. But one of the biggest mistakes that people make this medium is that they replace the real world with the virtual world. Social media is a tool for expression. It’s not for you to live your life through it. That’s what the real world is for. Learn to differentiate between – what’s real and what’s virtual.
The most important people in your life are your family and those friends who you actually hang out with, go to parties with, have lunch with, cry with, go shopping with. These are real people in your life who perhaps care about you, but perhaps are not so active with you on Facebook. These people need more of your time and energy than those who you chat with on Facebook or other social media platforms. Make social media a part of your life, but not your life.
– Sharika Kaul (Kalnirnay Calmanac | February 2015)
