Social Media: Internet's wild wild west

Social media is the warzone of the internet.

One post can make you part of the unemployment figure, or worse make you end up behind bars.

This is not even some sort of myth, I know of people this happened to. Look at Penny Sparrow, McIntosh Polela and Lance Witten. Some of the less known people is the 23-year old who posted something about his boss on Facebook and the 25-year old from Durban who made malicious statements.

More and more institutions also stalk your timeline when you apply for a job.

Government departments can now even ask you your social media as reference. Government is not doing this to limit your right to privacy or change your political views – it is done as part of an attempt to create a more professional public service.

I recently as part of preparation for a social media workshop sat and wondered if the 33% of the 57 million South Africans know why they on Facebook?

It is off-course no shock that so many of us are online or that social media is growing at such a fast pace in the country. More than half of the country is under the age of 35 and grown ups do joke kids are these days born with a smartphone in the hand.

I’ve drawn the conclusion many of the more than 19 million South Africans on Facebook do not grasp the consequences, when posting on social media.

Even worse is that many have not read the terms and conditions of the various social media platforms.

When someone is caught or corrected, the defence is always “it was only a joke”. Everything will never always “just be a joke”, and for any post there are consequences.

Many tend to say, “it is my Facebook” and they can write what they want.

Yes, it is your Facebook profile, but not your Facebook. It will always be the Facebook of Mark, Eduardo, Andrew, Dustin and Chris.

There are also rules and now even laws that box us.

The rules might sound unnecessary but social media – specifically Facebook – have literally and figuratively killed people. Mind you it is not your place to post when someone passed on, and the next of kin have not been informed.

It is also inhumane to post about someone who passed away and you got the information from hearsay and you not even a loved-one.

What irks me more than the boring jokes are those with more than one profile. I’ve once even asked a friend if he has a psychological problem, why else would he have another profile?

As part of my day job I manage seven social media platforms, every day, and that does not even include my own six. I kid you not it is a nightmare and an confuse the living daylight out of you. 

Why, just why, would you still clone your Facebook? For those jumping on the “I forgot my password”, there is the reset-option. Those running away from someone on the friend list, just unfriend or block the person.

Many – especially older – folks are under the impression when you say “social media”, you referring to Facebook.

Yes, the platform can filter photos like Instagram, upload videos like YouTube and make notes like Twitter. You can even use Messenger like WhatsApp or meet a potential partner like on Tinder.

Fact remains Facebook is not social media, it is only one of many platforms.

Many forget or ignore that when they upload something on Facebook there can be consequences. Many create fake Facebook groups or pages, some because it is fun.

Unfortunately for you someone may own the intellectual rights to a name, slogan and even photo or video.

You might have freedom of expression but, like on street, that goes together with a responsibility.

A huge part of this is respect and not to infringe on the rights of others. Next time you go onto any social media platform, remember the following:

Think before you post, you can be charged for what you post. To take photos or videos from other is stealing. You can be fired for what you say on your personal social media platforms and to mislead the public can land you in the hot water.

To explain social media is difficult, because the definition will differ from person to person.

For me it is – as mentioned in the introduction – the wild wild west of the internet.

It is difficult to manage, rugged but exciting. It enables you to add your ten cents to any discussion with any person, anywhere in the world. It offers some nice reading material and a different view.

Social media is to discover the truth of others.

If you like or follow me on social media, be accurate, fair and honest. Read and be informed on what you post and respect others, even if you don’t see them!

• This opinion piece initially published in Afrikaans in Paarl Post of Thursday 21 February 2019