Interacting with People Online: A Guide to Conducting Yourself Properly on Social Media

I think people figure because it's online you don't have to have the same tact and proper etiquette that you would if the person was standing right in front of you. I don't believe that to be true. That's why I made a list of 7 things to keep in mind when using the internet.

The 7 things to keep in mind are as follows:

1) Be Tactful:

There's a right way to talk to someone and a wrong way. The wrong way would be "You are such a stupid moron and your opinion shows that". The right way is "You are entitled to your opinion. I don't personally agree, but that's okay." Being tactful will always be more well received than being mean.

2) Be Respectful:

Nobody online really knows each other so it's a little hard to earn respect when you don't know someone. That doesn't mean that you can't treat them in a respectful manner. You don't know them and have no reason to treat someone poorly. Give respect to get respect.

3) Don't Assume:

I've seen on other websites I frequent, people read someone's questions, answers or writings and based upon that make assumptions about them. You can't possibly know who someone truly is by reading a couple things they wrote. So, don't make random assumptions about someone without facts to back it up. Besides, you know what they say about people who assume.

4) Everyone is Different:

People need to realize that not everybody is cut from the same cloth or made the same way. So, just because someone isn't like you, doesn't mean they're wrong. It just means they're different and that's okay.

5) Grammar shouldn't matter:

I get picked on a lot for my quote "bad grammar", because I misspell a couple words or don't punctuate properly. However, I do have an eye problem and so a lot of my mistakes are accidents but not because I didn't try. I try very hard, to the point of tears. So, people need to loosen up about grammar on social media. I know what someone writes should makes sense. As long as it is coherent and you can comprehend what they are saying, there's no reason to be a mean and make them feel bad because they made a few of grammatical errors. No one's perfect.

6) Don't Judge:

I'm really against people judging other people, because I know what it's like and it feels horrible. Just like it feels horrible to have people tell you about yourself, what traits you have or what you like, etc. They don't know you. So, don't judge people because there's no reason for it. Don't act like you have that person all figured out and know them better then they know themselves because I can guarantee you don't.

7) The Internet is not a Parallel Universe:

I understand that you may be able to get away with certain things online that you couldn't in your life. However, it's annoying when people say "in real life" because it gives off this certain naivete that you believe what happens online, can't happen in your life. That's simply not true. Any kind of person you find online you can find in your life. So, it's best to be aware of all your surroundings and not just one. Besides, it's not fair to clump all people online into one category. Not everyone online has ill intentions, so it's unfair to say "everyone online is" because everyone online is not. Just like everyone offline can't be put into one group, neither can the people you meet online. Keep all that in mind.