GrownUps New Zealand

4 crucial Facebook etiquette tips

We truly are living in a connected age. For those that aren’t yet embracing Facebook, it’s time to learn. The longer that you leave your social media education, the further behind you fall – which can make it difficult to communicate with people who use these platforms almost exclusively.

Make sure you’re ready for Facebook and not embarrassing yourself online by following these 4 crucial Facebook etiquette tips.

First, do some Facebook tutorials

You know what’s always better than diving head first into the deep end? Learning to swim before you do. Doing some Facebook tutorials will help avoid easy-to-make mistakes that might be etiquette faux pas. There are plenty of places online where you can learn how to use Facebook. This ‘Learn Facebook Tutorial – How Facebook Works’ tutorial from Lifewife goes through the absolute basics and is somewhat of a must before heading out into the wild. Your local library or community centre may have resources or classes that encompass how to use Facebook and/or other technologies so have a look there, too.

1. Think before you comment

Before you comment on anything on Facebook, or the internet, think about it carefully. Would you want everyone knowing you said that? Could what you’re saying be offensive to some people? Would you want everyone to know you’re interacting with that person or that business, or commenting on that photo or other comment?

You should think about your commenting in the way that you need to assume that anyone will be able to see your comment – that it’s not private, it’s public. While this is isn’t quite the case most times, there will certainly be people seeing your comment that you don’t know.

2. Don’t add people as friends that you don’t know in real life

If you haven’t played in the world of online communications much before, then you might find it really exciting to be able to chat to people that you don’t know from all over the world! However, Facebook isn’t really the place for it. Facebook is designed to be a network for you to connect with your friends and family. Since Facebook often contains a lot of personally identifying information (like your photos, circle of family and friends) it is a great place for scammers to mine information from you.

Don’t add people you don’t know as friends on Facebook. If you want to chat to people from across the world, you can talk to them on other platforms like games and message boards – and if you want, move on to messaging services like WhatsApp.

3. Post your photos wisely

Posting photos on Facebook is a great way to share memories with others, as well as ensure you’ll have them saved and accessible forever. However, it’s important that you’re discerning with your photo posting. Remember, you should assume that anyone might be able to see them. You want to ensure that all the photos you post are of a publicly acceptable standard. You should also think about whether other people in the photos would like you sharing them publicly. If in doubt, ask for their permission.

For photos that you don’t want publicly available, but would like to share with friends and family on Facebook, you can share them via Messenger, Facebook’s messaging platform. Here you can share photos one on one, or via groups of people you create.

Oh – and a final word. Don’t drink and Facebook – you may live to regret it!