I'm about due for a little rant session. Please don't mind me as I stick my nose in the air for a few moments and rant about some things I see happening (that shouldn't be) on various social media platforms.
1. Unrelated Commenting on Statuses / Photos / Links / Etc.
When one makes a particular post about something (usually on Facebook), I see many people making comments unrelated to the post like "OMG, i havent seen you in 4eva, how u been?" or "Do you remember where I left my keys?". Not only are these comments a distraction from the topic at hand, but the person making these comments is now forcing everyone else who has already commented to read what they are saying, via notifications. Please, be respectful of other users and save these types of comments for a wall post or private message.
Which leads me to my next point...
2. Don't Kill a Thread
This one is near and dear to my heart, since there are several people who I am very close to in the real world who LOVE to do this to me in the virtual world. I'm not funny very often, but when people actually catch on to what I'm saying and continue a fun thread, please don't be that guy. Don't be the person who kills the thread by saying "I don't get it" or "[insert unrelated comment in reference to rule #1 here]" or "actually, the rate at which a hamburger would hit the wall would be defined by the force it was thrown x the velocity of the burger x gravity." Whatever.
3. aLtErNaTiNg UpPeR / LoWeRcAsE lEtTeRs
We are not in 5th grade anymore, and this isn't MSN Messenger. Stop it.
ALSO, TYPING IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS JUST MAKES IT SEEM LIKE ONE IS YELLING AT EVERYONE ALL THE TIME, AND THEY ARE KILLING THE ACTUAL INTENT OF EMPHASIS FOR EVERYONE ELSE. IF YOU CAN'T SEE VERY WELL, CHANGE THE DEFAULT TEXT SIZE IN YOUR BROWSER.
4. Grammar Policing
I am a proud Grammar Nazi, but there's a time and a place. Don't ruin someone's fun and/or interesting post just to inform them they spelled something wrong, or used the wrong form of "there/their/they're." DON'T post a grammatical correction when that's the only thing you have to say. At the very most, privately message them if it bothers you so badly, but don't make both you and the writer look bad.
5. Leave Hashtags Where They Belong
This is one that I've heard from a couple social media gurus, but it's not necessarily one I care about a whole lot. Regardless, the concept of hashtags are essentially a Twitter invention used to create a metadata tag, and is part of what makes Twitter unique. On the other hand, because cross-posting has become so simple 1) since all platforms have become connected and 2) with the use of applications like Hootsuite, it's hard not to end up with hashtags here and there across mediums. Just bear in mind that the use of hashtags is intended for sites like Twitter and Instagram, and the use of them elsewhere may annoy some other users (including text messages. Just. GAHHHHH).
6. Don't Respond Poorly to Negative Feedback
Unfortunately, it happens. There's always someone who doesn't like anything, and if you're going to be posting about a heated topic, brace yourself for some angry slapback. Take the high road by ignoring the comment or responding intelligently; a simple "F U" doesn't support your case, and can make you look like a prick. On a related note, post positively and intelligently on others' posts that differ from your own opinion, and ignore the opinionated (often political) posts that are written out of sheer anger.
And finally, most importantly...
7. If You Don't Want Something to Exist on the Internet, Don't Post it in the First Place!
The ease of sharing photos on nearly every social media platform has made it really easy for people (mostly high school and college students) to post some really stupid stuff. Once something is on the Internet, it's there for good - no matter how quickly it is taken down (just ask Justin Bieber about this - he is a professional at "oops! Shouldna posted that!" posting). For the love of everything that is holy, DON'T post incriminating pictures of yourself passed out in your friends' front yard last Saturday night, or rudely vent about a specific person / business in a way you may come to regret later (words can come back to haunt you!).
So in a nutshell, those are a few of the biggest things I see that annoy me on social media platforms. What about you - what are some things you see, but wish you didn't have to?
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