Posting Photos Online
The do’s and don’ts
While social media has proven to have some negative social fallout, there is a lot more to young people's obsession with documenting their lives with photo posts and live videos of themselves. The meteoric rise of ‘The Selfie’ in parallel with social media, isn’t just a result of vanity but in fact plays an important role in a lot of young people’s personal development of self-confidence and identity.
Navigating the climate of social media when it comes to what is acceptable online behaviour can be tricky. Here are a few practical pointers on what photos not to post and social media etiquette.
Photos you should never post
The following photos should never be posted to your social media accounts for a range of reasons, spanning from risks of theft, breaches in confidentiality, hacking and professional reputation.
Boarding Pass
Money
Confidential emails/texts/DMs
Birth certificate
Work that isn’t copyrighted
Controversial images
Political cartoons
Other people’s announcements (ie pregnancies)
Someone else’s photos
Social Media Etiquette
Here are just a few things to keep in mind when posting photos online and engaging with others in the process.
Comments follow you
Much like comments on a website, comments, responses, likes, dislikes, rants, pictures and hashtags are, for better or worse, forever. Because social media feels like a place where people can just be themselves and say things off the cuff, people often say things they wouldn’t typically say in public. But unless all your accounts are private, what you’re saying is most definitely in public. Deleting images, tweets and updates doesn’t always solve the problem. When in doubt, if you don’t want something coming back to you, don’t upload or say it online.
Beware the overshare Pt 1 (personal details)
Nothing seems to freak out online followers (and people in general) more than a picture/comment/post that crosses the line you’ve established with your audience. If you begin to overextend yourself with the unnecessary details of your content, people might be a little surprised or uncomfortable. In short, there is a time, place and audience for certain photos, comments and discussions. More often than not, your general social media audience is too vast for such things.
Beware the overshare Pt 2 (too many posts)
Whether you’re uploading photo after photo on Instagram, tweeting like crazy, updating facebook or pinning things like there’s no tomorrow, most people don’t want to be flooded by updates from someone. Especially if your uploads differ from your typical post rate. Outside of controversial posts, flooding users’ feeds with a tirade of updates and images tends to be one of the most common reasons to inspire unfollows. So, if you plan on posting photos 40 times a day, let people know, manage their expectations.
Not everything is personal
Sometimes you just don’t get the likes and attention you thought you would from a certain image post. There isn’t necessarily some well orchestrated scheme from your followers to not engage with your post, it simply worked out that way.
People not liking or commenting on your posts does not need to be perceived as a slight. Sometimes posts go out at suboptimal times, your followers just aren’t signing on as much, people are on holidays. Either way, if you truly feel you’ve been snubbed by someone you know well in real life, send them an actual email to ask.
Think before tagging
Most people want to put their best foot forward online. That foot rarely includes unseemly photos. If you’ve got a shot of someone you want to upload, and you’re not trying to embarrass them, reach out to see if they mind you tagging them. Most people appreciate the chance to avoid having their reputation damaged or looking foolish.
Ignoring trumps engaging with online attackers (most of the time)
People will be mean to you online, bigger still, people will be mean to you throughout life, period. No matter who you are, or how nice you are, someone out there will hassle you for being yourself. Those people seem to love attacking on social media outlets the most. It’s easy to trip and fall into a comment battle on your Instagram posts, but when in doubt, let it go. Unless someone’s causing real damage to your reputation, stay out of it or respond with a simple factual response.
Much like regular bullying, if you don’t respond, most antagonists get bored and move on.
Social Media was created with the purpose of sharing. Much like rules within sport, if you manage to operate within self-assigned barriers and guidelines, you can end up having a really good time. Having those structures in place are for your own benefit.