Stop romanticizing social media, but rather, choose to become more aware and mindful of what happens there. Social Media life is not so different from your everyday life, and it has very similar elements to your regular life, which you need to be mindful of. The same scammers, thieves, bullies and predators that exist face to face are the same people who are behind all the faceless accounts that are on social media. Due to this, you need to ensure that you become more cautious of your activities and your family’s activities on social media. Here are some things that you should be watchful of on Social Media.
Your Privacy
Just like the word privacy implies, you need to ensure that you keep your private business off of social media. This isn't to keep you from expressing yourself but it is merely to protect you. Besides, what good is expressing yourself if it poses a danger to you and your family? Make sure you check your social media privacy settings for all your apps to hide your address, phone number and the people who can see your page activities. This protects you from predators, scammers and other people who may want to violate you.
Click Bait
Have you ever seen a very interesting headline on your pages, and once you pressed it, you were misled to several unethical pages? Well, that is what clickbait refers to. You need to be mindful of the links that you press on and the sources of the link. Many people have found their accounts being hacked just because they clicked on the wrong content, allowing hackers to access their accounts. You, therefore, need to refrain from following up on every link unless it is from a reliable website, as this may lead to your social media accounts being hacked and your information being misused.
Scammers
Social media is more or less a breeding ground for scammers all around the world. Most people make money from creating accounts with the sole intention of scamming you out of your money. If you find yourself being asked to give away your bank passwords or money by unverifiable people, then you may need to immediately block them or report them on your social media servers. You should also avoid sending money to your love interests unless you have physically met as they may be just scammers. Beware and be watchful of scammers on your social media accounts.
Over-sharing
Every time you overshare on your social media accounts, you increase your vulnerability and expand the probability of either being scammed or having your information used against you. A simple effect of oversharing is having people judge you for your life choices and end up leading you into depression all because you decided to empower and amour them with what to depress you with. You may also run the risk of having your identity stolen if you overshare, so you need to be very careful of whom you give your information to on social media.
Cyberbullying
The amount of bullies that are on social media has increasingly become concerning. It is as though social media has become a ground for hatred and personal attacks for people all around the world. Do not allow people to troll you on your social media pages. If they bully you, report them immediately and then block and restrict them from your pages. There is no need for you to keep such negativity so that you can prove your resilience( you don't owe anyone anything). Exterminate the negativity and toxicity from your accounts and advocate for good vibes and fun times.
Trending Challenges
Wanting to be social media famous comes with the risk of trying out certain challenges that may endanger you in the process. Do not allow yourself to engage in certain things that your rational self would not agree to. Stop posing naked, trying life-threatening challenges and endangering the people around you all in the name of content. Keep your challenges simple, fun and up to your real-life standards.
Friend Requests
Stop accepting everyone’s friend requests without assessing whether you know them or not. Accepting strange people’s friend requests may lead to them misusing your information. Some people may follow you with the mere intention of mistreating you and by accepting their friend requests, you give them the access to do that. Some of these people may even reflect badly on you as their content may be inappropriate, making you seem that way too. Be mindful of whose friend requests you accept on your social media accounts.
Social Media Addiction
If you find yourself spending way too much time on social media, this is the perfect cue for you to reduce your screen time. Social media can be very addictive and when you start viewing post after post and content after content, you run the risk of losing touch with your actual life. Reduce your screen time and make sure you make room for other activities in your life besides social media.
Misinformation
If your intention of using social media is to get the latest information and news then this one's for you. You need to be careful of the information you get from social media as it is full of misdirecting information that is more false than true. Check and verify your sources regularly so that you are not misinformed.