“Useful Advice That You Need To Know On How To Be A Responsible Social Media User”

Josephvijandre
7 min readFeb 6, 2021

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Well, welcome to my blog! The aim of this blog is to provide information about “Social Media Responsibility” that I suppose there are a lot of negative things happening around social media platforms today. The netizens are becoming the victims of people with bad intentions on the Internet. It affects their mental health and financial capacity, which is of concern to them. I would like to provide useful information and tips on how users of the Internet can protect themselves while using social media, how they can keep their social media feeds healthy, and how they can become a responsible social media user.

In the last five years, social media has innovated in growth, which has eventually become an important platform for people to communicate. It has served as an integral part of our daily lives. Up to now, social media tools have been developed through innovation due to technological improvement, social media founders and sites are engaged in continuous research and development to improve communication media and methods. Many websites provide a variety of tools to advertise and sell products to customers, but social media not only offers online sales, but also provides a network for people. Today, the social media network is becoming an important marketing tool for companies, it is a place of interaction and communication where millions of people meet every day. It plays a huge role in society, and it is a constantly evolving digital environment that shapes our lives and livelihoods.

Social media has a wide range of information and content that is accessible to all and has the power to influence people. You can choose what you want to be, or how you want people to see you. It’s easy to create a person different from our identity in the social media. There are many different websites and apps that have helped us improve our creativity and imagination, allowing us to become better versions of ourselves. It’s a platform that gives us knowledge and a lot more. But are you sure you’re safe from predators on this evolving platform? Are you sure you’re a responsible user?

In order to protect you from potential predators, you need to manage yourself well, and here are some ways to make you a responsible digital citizen;

• Apply the rule “Think before you click” on any activity you’re about to do, make sure that before you click, you’ll have to read it first and never put your trust on the website because if you put your important information like your bank account, some hackers will do the magic and steal it. Be careful what you put on your personal information, make sure that you can trust the app before you put your address, financial information, phone number. The easier you post, the easier it is to steal your identity.

•To ensure your safety, always check the privacy of a website or app.

•Avoid fake news and spam that can lead you to misleading information or articles. Beware of viruses, because once you get it some of your friends list might be curious on the link you shared and can get the virus too. You must be critical on what you saw and what you read because it might affect you and the entire social media society.

• Limit the audience who will be able to see your posts and avoid posting private information.

• Having awareness or knowing how to use these platforms like what you share in the internet or what you put in it can ensure your safety, where you can see what is a good influence and what is a bad influence for you.

•Self Control is important, you can control what you want to share, and you can avoid people sharing negative vibes.

•It’s also important to choose your audience, some people can be toxic to you, and they’ll affect how you will view yourself resulting to you to do what they want in order to please them.

•It’s essential that if you’re going to create an account, make sure you use a strong password and that’s going to keep you safe.

•Keep in mind what you like, post, comment and share, because if you post things like that, you’ll also get similar posts because social media is designed to suit your preferences. For example, in Instagram, you always like a dog photo to reflect on your feed.

•Be sensitive, do not be hateful or racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive.

•Surround yourself with well-founded people who can have a great impact on your life online, make you feel validated, and you don’t need to over-share yourself.

•Know what action to take, if someone is trying to intimidate or threatening you, remove it from your friends list, block it, and report it to the system administrator.

•You cannot protect yourself from others, and you cannot the audience from seeing what they have to see on their timelines. For example, you shared an accident or some kind of violence on your timeline that you need to inform people on social media by saying, “This content could trigger you, or you could just say Trigger Warning or T.W.” Put warnings so you won’t trigger their discomfort or anything that might embarrass them.

•Always know the rules, when starting an account on any social media account or website, it is important to read the terms and conditions first before creating an account. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and many other apps have developed guidelines for you to follow in order to be a safe and responsible user. If something happens to your account, they won’t be held accountable. They’re doing their best to warn people about the pitfalls of using the internet, which we avoid most of the time. We simply agree to the terms and conditions and skip, and maybe you need to read it to know what to do if you’re in trouble or need some help.

•Interact politely with people, there are many people who argues in the internet and it is an unpleasant thing to see because it might be inappropriate to some users. It is hurtful to both parties especially if offensive words are exchanged.

• If a certain content was created by someone you should learn how to put some credits or acknowledging the owner of that content, photos, memes, artworks, opinions and many more. It is a form of respect and it is punishable by law if you didn’t put some credits( Copyright Act).

•Always apply the rule THINK- T for is it true, H for is it helpful or hurtful, I for is it illegal or inspiring, N for is it necessary, K for is it kind?

The digital world is a big place to be. There are many things that could influence you, since the use and access of different types of websites and media is quite accessible to all people of any age, gender or nationality. It is important to maintain proper behavior and behavior while using the Internet.

A good digital citizen can learn a lot about the internet without being harmed. The internet is a more dangerous place than we could ever imagine. In a day, many people are hacked, scammed, abducted, bullied, and many other crimes that you could never imagine because of their irresponsibility. The rules will make you a good citizen and a good citizen is a satisfied and healthy user of the digital world, the Internet. We all want a healthy life and a healthy social media platform, today I could say that I’m disappointed with what I’ve always seen on my timeline, I can say that facebook isn’t healthy anymore. There are so many politicians, doctors, police, teachers, or I’d say clowns are like they know it all. Today, if I saw someone like that, I’m sure I’m going to cut them off because that’s my right. As a user, I want to change and start as a good influence for a better and healthier social life.

A simple reminder, everyone must be aware of the lists of what to do and what must be done in social media. Always familiarize the rules and regulations before you use a platform to ensure your safety. This medium is broad and I am hundred percent sure that there are a lot of predators lurking around looking for some victims. Always be aware as awareness is the first step to development. Let us practice social media responsibility and I hope this blog has shown you my personal view on Social Media and how to protect yourself while you are operating on it. All of us wants to have a healthy social media life and right now you should practice it by adopting my given examples on how to be a responsible and safe social media user.

Thank you for reading! I hope you learned something from my blog!

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