My Five Simple Rules to Survive Social Media

So much happened over the past couple of weeks that led many to reassess their engagement on social media. The Facebook and Cambridge Analytica debacle might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but social media has been under scrutiny for quite some time. From Twitter’s problem with hate speech to Snapchat’s dubious advertizing, to Facebook, we have been reminded daily that social media is not a heavenly world.

Despite all that has been going on, however, I am not ready to pack everything up and walk away just yet. I have, though, reassessed how I use social media and realized that the following five simple rules might help me remain sane.

Invest time to figure out how things work

I am a strong advocate of taking matters into my own hands. When it comes to social media, you should not be expecting to have the platform you are using be explicit about what data they collect and who they share it with.

I believe that often in real life, and too often in our digital life, we give away personal information without thinking about who will eventually get their hands on it. If you are a parent and you have taken your kid to one of those jump/climb/play birthday parties you know that the liability form they ask you to fill in is just a way to have your address for advertising. I have learned from a friend to say no to any additional information other than my signature.  Why are we not that picky when it comes to social networks?

Of course, most sites don’t make it easy for you to find the information and when you do understanding all the ramifications requires a legal degree and the patience to read through it all. Many people don’t realize how Facebook works. They might know it is advertizing, and they might know they are using some personal information but they do not know how deep the link between these two is.

After the Cambridge Analytica news, I went into my Facebook settings and revoked access to all those apps I no longer use, or I could not even remember granting access to them in the first place. I stopped logging in with Facebook or Google to any new service, app or website, and instead, I create an account. Yes, it is painful, but in most cases, it is only a couple of minutes more. I am particularly careful with allowing access to my friends’ information. I might be ok with sharing, but I cannot make that decision for my friends.

Whether or not this is all a lost cause because there is plenty of data about us out in the wild does not really matter. The point is that some tools are available to us and while we should demand more from the platform owners, we should also start using what is already there.

Do Your Due Diligence on News

A big part of social media has to do with news. I know I use Twitter to get breaking news and analysis from my favorite tech reporters and commentators. The immediacy of social media is such that you feel like you have your hand on the pulse. Yet, that immediacy does not give enough time to vet the information being shared. Even relying on official sources might not be enough to avoid mistakes. I am not talking about fake news, I am just talking about news hot off the press that is being reported as it develops. If you are the kind of person who wants to follow news as it unfolds, make sure you validate the information especially before sharing. Yesterday shooting at YouTube HQ was a sad example of how people also try to take advantage of the situation to spread hate and misinformation, as the Twitter account of a person who was caught up in the incident was hacked.

When it comes to news you also need to be aware of your bubble. It is inevitable that you follow or befriend people you like and share interests with. This might cause you to have a very one-sided set of information even more so than it used to be when you bought your favorite newspaper or watched your favorite evening news show. It is on you to balance your sources.

Be Considerate

Be considerate to people you interact with and yourself. I never say something on social media that I would not say in person, and this applies both when I talk about people or brands. I do clean up my language more than I do in person only because I don’t know who is on the other side of my tweet or post. This is not different from not swearing in a room full of children or when you don’t know how people feel about it.

My digital me is also kinder than my real me. When you blast out an opinion or thought you don’t know every person you are going to reach. The number of people who will engage with you is probably a fraction of the people that you reach and might be affected by what you say.

I might be kinder and have a cleaner vocabulary, but I am always myself. All right, maybe on Facebook, I am also the happier side of myself! The point is that I stay true to what I care about and what I believe. This is why at times I would veer from my tech coverage on Twitter to talk about women, diversity, and education.

Also, remember to be kind to yourself. Mute, unfollow, report people who create a toxic environment. Don’t think for a second that just because they do not say it straight to your face, it won’t eventually affect you. In the same way, as you would stop talking to someone in real life or stop going to a place where everyone is obnoxious you should walk away from social.

The Pros must outweigh the Cons

For me today, the pros of being active on social media still outweigh the cons.

From a personal perspective, it gives me a way to keep in touch friends I still have in the UK and Italy that I don’t see often. I could call or write but the reality is that time is limited, and as much as you care about people it is hard to share details or your everyday life over email or even a call.

From a professional standpoint, social media does make things easier. Think about changing job before social media and how much harder it was for people who had a public profile to keep their contacts. Sure people could find you, but it was certainly not as easy. Now people can find me on Facebook, Messenger, Twitter even on LinkedIn. If they cannot find you, it really causes they don’t want to!

Fasting is Good for the Soul

I am always surprised how much time I can spend scrolling through Facebook and Twitter. Twitter, in particular, is a window to a ton of information if you follow the right people.

When I am less present on social, I do feel I am less aware of the latest news but at the same time, there is less anxiety. I might get the news at the end of the day or the following day, but those stories are more developed without having been through that fast pace that only increases my apprehension. This has been especially true since the American Election and Brexit as pretty much everybody in my feed started talking more openly about politics.

As you read this article, I will be enjoying a few days of exploring Washington DC with my daughter. I will have my Apple Watch set up to show breaking news, and I will check in probably at the start and the end of my day. For the rest of the time, though, I will try my best to be in the moment, to make memories with my kid knowing that I will not be missed much on social media and that everybody and everything will still be there when I get back.

 

 

 

Published by

Carolina Milanesi

Carolina is a Principal Analyst at Creative Strategies, Inc, a market intelligence and strategy consulting firm based in Silicon Valley and recognized as one of the premier sources of quantitative and qualitative research and insights in tech. At Creative Strategies, Carolina focuses on consumer tech across the board. From hardware to services, she analyzes today to help predict and shape tomorrow. In her prior role as Chief of Research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, she drove thought leadership research by marrying her deep understanding of global market dynamics with the wealth of data coming from ComTech’s longitudinal studies on smartphones and tablets. Prior to her ComTech role, Carolina spent 14 years at Gartner, most recently as their Consumer Devices Research VP and Agenda Manager. In this role, she led the forecast and market share teams on smartphones, tablets, and PCs. She spent most of her time advising clients from VC firms, to technology providers, to traditional enterprise clients. Carolina is often quoted as an industry expert and commentator in publications such as The Financial Times, Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She regularly appears on BBC, Bloomberg TV, Fox, NBC News and other networks. Her Twitter account was recently listed in the “101 accounts to follow to make Twitter more interesting” by Wired Italy.

69 thoughts on “My Five Simple Rules to Survive Social Media”

  4. Hi there terrific website! Does running a blog like this take a large amount of work?
    I have absolutely no understanding of coding but I had been hoping to start my
    own blog in the near future. Anyhow, should you have any ideas
    or techniques for new blog owners please share. I understand this is off topic nevertheless
    I simply had to ask. Thanks!

    Reply

  7. Yesterday, while I was at work, my sister stole my iPad
    and tested to see if it can survive a twenty five
    foot drop, just so she can be a youtube sensation. My iPad is now broken and she
    has 83 views. I know this is totally off topic but I had to share
    it with someone!

    Reply

  13. My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from
    PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the expenses.
    But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using Movable-type on several websites for about a year and am concerned about switching to
    another platform. I have heard excellent things about blogengine.net.
    Is there a way I can transfer all my wordpress content into it?
    Any help would be really appreciated!

    Reply

  26. What’s up everyone, it’s my first pay a quick visit at
    this web page, and paragraph is actually fruitful in favor
    of me, keep up posting such posts.

    Reply

  30. ed meds online without doctor prescription [url=http://edpills.monster/#]ed meds online without doctor prescription[/url] best otc ed pills

    Reply

  37. Levitra 20 mg for sale [url=http://levitra.icu/#]Buy Vardenafil 20mg online[/url] Vardenafil online prescription

    Reply

  41. ciprofloxacin generic price [url=http://ciprofloxacin.men/#]Buy ciprofloxacin 500 mg online[/url] ciprofloxacin generic price

    Reply

  44. doxycycline prescription online [url=http://doxycycline.forum/#]buy doxycycline over the counter[/url] doxycycline prescription cost

    Reply

  48. cipro online no prescription in the usa [url=https://ciprofloxacin.men/#]Get cheapest Ciprofloxacin online[/url] cipro pharmacy

    Reply

  64. medication from mexico pharmacy [url=http://mexicopharmacy.store/#]top mail order pharmacy from Mexico[/url] buying from online mexican pharmacy

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *