Social media is a place or place for a person to interact with other people online which is widely used by people around the world. In social media, we can find new friends, distant family, find old friends, chat with real time , discuss, share moments, and so on. The difference is, everything is done online and is connected via the internet.

Currently, there are various types of social media that you can use. For example, Facebook which prioritizes the friendship feature, Instagram which is a place to express and share photos and videos, or Twitter with its popular tweets, can also be used to follow famous figures/artists, find out about current world developments and so on.

Just like in the real world, social media also has a myriad of rules and regulations that you must obey and understand when using it. In addition, in using social media, you must really pay attention to communication etiquette. The goal, so that we can use social media well and avoid anything that is not desirable.

Tips for Using Social Media Wisely

Many of today’s social media users have not been able to use it wisely, well, and correctly. Plus the number of users who are still underage, they actively use social media without knowing the ethics of using it. Even though social media has a bad impact if it is not used wisely.

Here are tips for you, so you can use social media wisely and correctly.

1. Keep Your Privacy on Social Media

Among the functions of social media is to express yourself, share experiences and beautiful moments, introduce yourself to all social media users. However, it still has its limitations.

Do not let things that fall into your privacy are also shared on social media. Not everyone on social media has good traits and character, it could be that irresponsible people take advantage of your privacy to commit crimes.

Therefore you must be vigilant and careful about your privacy and identity.

When using social media, everyone can follow, see and monitor you. Whether it’s from profile photos, uploads, status, activity, and everything about what you post in it. Therefore, it is important to maintain your privacy, so as not to carelessly indulge in privacy.

For example, the profile photo that you use can be used for crimes by other users. Like creating a (fake) cloning account in your name, or other bad things. Therefore, try setting so that your profile photo cannot be accessed publicly.

If in doubt, use a profile photo of an animal/cartoon image. However, this does have its drawbacks, namely that your friends will have a little trouble recognizing and finding your account, but for security and errors, it doesn’t hurt.

The personal data you use when registering is also at risk of being misused. For that, I suggest that personal data such as address, date of birth, phone number, or email be set to private. It is also recommended to provide personal information as necessary and do not overdo it.

2. Think before Making a Post

The nice thing about social media is that we can make posts/status and other people can give feedback, like, or comment on it. However, keep in mind that we can not arbitrarily make posts. Make sure that the posts that we make do not offend others, or contain elements of SARA. Because, if so, you could be prosecuted.

When making posts, also make sure you don’t overexpose yourself and your family. Moreover, to show off your wealth and display your current location. Because, it can invite criminals and lead to crime.

Be careful when sharing posts on social media, in addition to making posts, we can also share other people’s posts. In this case, we as users still have to be careful. Because, there are posts in the form of fake news or things that are often called hoaxes. Do not carelessly share other people’s posts before knowing the source of the news and the truth of the information you share.

Hoax itself is made by irresponsible parties to bring someone down or make the atmosphere chaotic. Therefore, be careful when you want to share posts. Make sure the source is credible and trustworthy.

If we spread false information (HOAX), it will make hoaxes spread endlessly. Just imagine, when you share it, it gets seen by other people and triggers that person to share it. Then, and so on until the hoax is not stopped.

3. Be selective when receiving information

When you are on social media, surely a lot of news and information will appear on your social media timeline. However, not all news is written based on facts and the level of truth is not necessarily verified. Therefore, we need our awareness to choose and evaluate the news.

Do not let us be easily provoked by a news. First find out the source and the truth. If you have doubts, just ignore it, don’t even be provoked and share it with others, even though we ourselves don’t know where the source of the news came from and whether the news is true or not.

This is where you need to be selective and wise in receiving information that is scattered on social media.

Social media users are also not all good, there are some who use social media for evil. Like fraud, or some other crime. Therefore, be careful choosing friends on social media, don’t trust people you just know.

Hopefully with some of the tips above, you can use social media more wisely, well, correctly, and selectively in receiving information and can consider the pros and cons of an action wisely.