Your Polite Friend was recently contacted in a discussion about social media. This is going to be a long one so I have decided to split it in to two posts. Here is part one. Hope you enjoy.
Social Media, Free Speech or No?
Someone came to Your Polite Friend with a question: Should I filter what I post on my social media if I know it is going to upset someone?
This is one of those questions that seems super easy when you first think about it, but gets a little more complicated the more you discuss it.
Very Simply: Your Facebook page & feed is your own & you are allowed to post whatever you wish (that doesn't violate the Facebook laws).
HOWEVER, just like the rest of your life, you are not free from any consequences from you postings. In Social Media, this can mean being blocked, being unfollowed, being unfriended, or starting a flame war; not to mention the off-line consequences on top of that. Some of this is just the inevitable end of sharing an opinion on the internet. Some of it is avoidable, if you are willing to keep your political or other touchy opinions to yourself.
This is where you need to ask yourself if sharing your opinion means more to you than the potential negative feed back you might get from friends & family. This is a personal decision that comes down to what you see the point of Social Media being. Is it a place to share fun pictures & reconnect with friends? Or is it a place for you to get your message out to a broader audience?
One issue that often comes up when dealing with anything over the internet, is a certain amount of human communication is lost. Very few of us are professional writers (Your Polite Friend Included) & will always struggle with making ourselves perfectly understood over type. Inflection, facial expression, body language are all lost when dealing over type. Also, honestly, sometimes it is much easier to be nasty when you are not looking the other person in the face. These are all things to keep in mind when sharing your opinion or commenting on someone else's.
No matter what you decide, your feed & your page are yours. If someone replies to a post you make with something horrible you are with in your rights to delete it, & despite what they might claim, deleting a comment is NOT censorship.
Some people have 2 Facebook profiles to help deal with this. One for Public & Family, & another for more personal use. This is a great solution to help avoid conflict, particularly for work or family. Another option is to set different privacy levels for different people & make sure not everyone can see everything you post. This is entirely up to you & what works best for your life style.
All of this comes down to what you're most comfortable with readers. If you have thick skin & can handle the possibility of people being upset of what you say, then share away, but please be aware that this can drive other people away. If you are not super thick skinned & prefer to keep your online conversation light & fun, maybe keep political debates to the dinner table.
We will continue this conversation in Part Two, check back for more social media etiquette tips.
That's all for now friends. Please keep checking back for more etiquette tips & questions answered & feel free to write in with any questions!
XOXO
Your Amie Polie (That's Polite Friend in French-Talk)
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