Social Media Dos and Don’ts At University

 The first days of university can be a frantic rush to add every new person you meet as a friend on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and any other social media network you can think of.

While you’re likely to post updates and send DMs every single day, it’s worth remembering that you probably don’t need to share every single moment of your first uni bar crawl. How you act and behave on social media can have far-reaching consequences, so it’s important to follow some basic rules for what you do and don’t post.

If you want to avoid a social media history that comes back to haunt you, follow these social media dos and don’ts.

Someone threw your wet laundry out of the washing machine and left it in a pile on the floor. Or maybe you didn’t get a good mark in the essay you worked really hard on and you just want to let everyone know how unfair it all is.

Whatever it is that’s getting you down, an all-caps rant is only going to have negative long-term consequences, even if it helps you feel better in the short-term.

Before you rush to pick up your phone, take some time to make sure you’re in the right mindset then think to yourself if it’s really necessary. If the answer is no, then don’t post it. The world (and especially the internet) is full of too much negativity, so don’t add to it!

It’s good to talk about things that really interest you on social media, and it’s great that you have opinions on topics – social media was designed to connect people and help everyone have a voice.

However, sharing your passions with others shouldn’t come at the cost of offending other people or harming your future employment prospects. Posting a negative comment about a public figure or getting drawn into a bitter argument about something is the kind of behavior which is hard to erase completely and can give people a negative impression of you.

You may be really enjoying your (slightly too crazy) night out and want to post a few pictures and videos on your Instagram story to let everyone know how much of a good time you’re having, but there are some parts of a night out which you probably don’t want recorded for posterity.

Many employers are now carrying out extensive online checks as part of the recruitment process, and something you thought wouldn’t matter at the time, may prevent you getting your dream job a few years down the line. Your online reputation is as important as your real life one, so if you wouldn’t want your grandma to see something then you probably shouldn’t post it.

Don’t be fooled and think that having a Finsta – a ‘fake’ Instagram account where you share pictures only with close friends – is a way around this though. Although it’s unconnected to your normal social media accounts, it’s worth noting that people can still screenshot these images without you knowing.