Social Media is the wave of the future but baby boomers are still puzzled by the fascination of someone posting every minute, or second of their life for the world to see. From generation to generation new trends, technology or lifestyles change and when they do resistance can form from the fading generation. Change is hard and can be frightening. Although, the wiser generation is not always wrong when it comes to identifying pitfalls in the new ways of doing things.
Anyone 40-something year old like me probably felt slightly uncomfortable when their parents joined Facebook. Although after watching this video I am happy she did. Initially I felt like she would be checking up on me but in honesty she pointed out things I would have never thought about; potential opportunities that a person with negative or bad intentions could create chaos in my life. It was when I watched this recent “Social Media Experiment” that I was reminded of a time when my mother would harass me each time I posted something on Facebook. A comment ingrained in my mind is “would you stop posting all that stuff for everyone to see!”
Conveniently, a year later I had my very own Facebook stalker who lived across the street from me who would attempt to run into me by my status updates and tags at specific locations. It became more a reality that I was being stalked after testing to see if I was being paranoid or being stalked. I posted I was somewhere close in the neighborhood and minutes later the person posted on my Facebook wall, “I just missed you.” Funny thing, I never left my house. That experience caused me to change my posting behaviors.
Even though I still tag myself at places, I do it like a moving target. It’s rare I will still be at the location when it hits Facebook. A common practice of mine is to tag myself right before leaving the establishment or location. Even when I am with friends who are trigger happy when it come to posting, I have my Facebook privacy settings set to approve all tags before hitting my wall. Approving tags often times happens from my desktop when I am back home hours after the event. That way I can also ensure all my photos are “Facebook Ready.”
For my single friends who are aggressively dating and who are fearless when it comes to dating and think it’s okay to pick-up their date (a complete stranger) at their place, let me just say as I tell my friends; take a selfie in front of the apartment building, include the location with a caption like this, “picking up my date, (name of date)” on Facebook or Instagram. This way if something goes terribly wrong, friends and family have a time and place you were last seen. The average person browsing thinks you’re overly sharing but it’s also being smart. It also acts as a time-stamp of your whereabouts if something does go wrong.
Posting when I am home safely after a late night out for the last year is a way for my mother who worries a lot to check in the middle of night to make sure all is okay. Even though I am offering positive ways to utilize Facebook this video is the real and true reason you should think about how, what, and when you post something.
Remember, everyone is not conducting an experiment and this experiment for me is enough proof that we all should be careful of how much information we provide on social media. Don’t get me wrong, I like to meet people I’ve only known through Facebook but everyone is not honest, caring, and respectful.
The misconception is placed in the hands of others who may think you are real friends and then they approach you like a close friend simply because you’ve allowed them into your Facebook world. It’s a fine line but if done right it can create “real” long-lasting friendships. Although I would like to believe everyone we meet has good intentions, that’s not always the case. People are out to cause harm to others or invade your personal “real” space.
Years ago the tag-line for using the phone was, “reach out and touch someone.” Well, it’s no longer a tag-line for marketing. Your Facebook and tagging where you are has made that more “real” and possible than ever.
The video below is informative and a great video to pass along. Definitely pass it on to teens. We don’t want our young adults finding themselves in life-threatening situations.
