Social Media – it has its positive impact on people’s lives everyday. There’s an opportunity to interact with people from all corners of the globe without leaving your home or office. You can see sights you might never see in person, you can learn of other cultures and you can form friendships with people you might never meet face to face. I have online friends that I’ve known for 20 years. We share the things friends share and we care about each other; yet, we’ve never met in person.
Just like the Garden of Eden, though, there are pitfalls on Social Media. Things that people post can spread like wildfire. You’ve heard the term – it went viral. In the case of something positive – say, the surprise homecoming of an armed service member, going viral can be a good thing. But, when something is posted that isn’t true (or not the entire truth), going viral can affect a lot of people.
This past week has been awful on Social Media. Several untrue stories have been promoted even by big media outlets. A young man was incorrectly identified in a video and his life, along with the lives of his family members, became a nightmare.
The question I have for you today is: what can you do to avoid this Social Media pitfall? Well, start by doing what a lot of media outlets are NOT doing – don’t forward or publish anything until you have verified the information with at least two reliable sources. (The good news is, people often ask us here at Keystone Computer Concepts about a Social Media post or an email before they send it!)
Additionally, ask intelligent questions before you jump on any bandwagon. For instance: “Is this the whole video of what happened?” “Can I trust the person who posted this?” “How can I verify if this post is factual?”
One other pitfall to consider: celebrities, politicians and some media outlets have their own agenda. Just because you respect someone for the job they perform doesn’t mean you should trust their judgement in other areas. Before you buy into some Social Media post, ask yourself this question: “Would I believe this if a complete stranger came up to me on the street and told me the same thing?”
Promote the good things about Social Media and stay away from these particular pitfalls.