By: Meghan Mathias
There is definitely some confusion about what is okay to post on social media and what is not these days. These rules are not universal and may vary depending on the person, however, there are some very important “Don’ts” for social media posting that apply to all young kids online and many adults in professional settings as well.
What to Avoid Posting on Social Media
- Profanity
- Illegal content
- Abusive or offensive content
- Harassment, threats, or bullying
- Negative thoughts and opinions about your school or workplace
- Poor grammar and spelling
- Personal information
- Pictures that you may regret other people seeing, such as revealing photos or ones that could be taken out of context
If you’re ever in a rut when it comes to posting online, there are some great ideas out there to get you inspired to be creative with your posting without breaking any of the guidelines listed above. Here are some ideas that are not only totally okay to post on social media, but are encouraged.
Creative Ideas for Posting on Social Media
- Good news! It can often be overwhelming seeing all of the horrible things going on in the world online. Share some news articles filled with inspiring stories or share something good that happened to you that day to lighten up your feed
- Throwback Thursday, a day dedicated to posting old (often embarrassing) photos of yourself online for a good laugh, is always a good idea
- Photos of you with friends and/or family that will be nice to look back on in the future
- GoFundMe’s and other online fundraisers advocating for good causes that are trying to reach their goals
- As cliche as it is, a good food photo or sunset capture never fails, plus, pictures that don’t involve you being in them definitely follow the rules of not sharing anything too personal
- Reposting memes and funny animal videos is what the Internet is for, right?
Discussion Questions
- What is your favorite social media platform to post content on?
- Do you ever go to post something online, and then second-guess yourself because you’re not sure if it’s appropriate or not?
- What is a trend online that you have participated in, such as Throwback Thursdays?
- Why do you think it’s easy to get in trouble when you post harmful things online?
Sources
- https://collegegrad.com/blog/10-things-you-should-never-post-on-social-media
- https://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-fam-positive-social-media-1010-story.html
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