Social networking is a fun and entertaining way to keep in touch with friends and family who live far away and to reconnect with old friends and colleagues. However, social media is not the place to air your dirty laundry, badmouth your ex, or act like a teenager. Colleagues will think less of you, old friends will be turned off and people will judge you on everything inappropriate you post online, which is why there are a few things experts recommend you avoid doing at all costs when engaging in social media. Here are some important Facebook behavior tips
Photos
When people see photos online, they have immediate thoughts:
Duck Face: She thinks she’s 16…and stupid.
Sexy Pose: She’s looking for attention (and that is not a sexy look).
Up Close Photos of Yourself Taken With Your Arm a Foot Above Your Head: She’s trying to look skinny.
No self-respecting adult posts photos like this. In reality, if you feel the need to take a picture of yourself in the mirror to pose online, the message you send is one that you are desperately looking for attention and compliments. It’s never attractive. You aren’t 16 anymore, so stop acting like it.
Badmouthing Your Ex
Nothing is less attractive than a person who has no respect for others. It doesn’t matter if your ex is the biggest waste of space on the planet – your personal business does not belong on the internet. It makes others uncomfortable and it shows that you have anger issues as well as an inability to behave with maturity and respect. Prospective employers, coworkers and your family will think twice about your ability to maintain a professional and respectful demeanor if you can’t keep your own business personal. Additionally, bashing your ex online makes you come across like a 19-year-old teen that hasn’t had time to grow up, not a 30-year-old adult.
Too Much Negativity
Continuously posting things like, “My life sucks. I hate it,” “Why do I have such horrible luck,” “Some people have it all. I deserve to have it all, so why don’t I have it all?” on a regular basis makes you come across as bitter and angry. Additionally, it makes you come across as whiny and lazy.
Too Many Emoticons
All right, I’m guilty of this one: I am always posting wink faces at the end of my stuff online. I’m a pretty sarcastic person, and I’ve learned that most people don’t get that. Since it’s so hard to convey sarcasm online I always add one of these. And sometimes I end up posting four in the same response. Oops. However, that and obsessive compulsive smiley faces and 87 exclamation points at the end of a sentence do nothing but make you annoying.
Too Personal
No one should ever post about things like sex, mucus plugs, umbilical cords, placentas and breast implants. Ever.
