The curious case of Social Media Remorse !

Have you in the recent past noticed a change in your demeanor? Sweaty hands, a strange pit in the stomach, unable to concentrate on anything and a need to REFRESH and hit DELETE ?

The above symptoms are best described as a classic case of "Social Media Remorse". Welcome to the world of  New age Social Networking.

Social networking sites sure made our lives a lot easier, opened new channels for us, both personally and professionally. We get to reach out to old friends and make new ones too. Everything is great until you mess up with a single post,video or 'tag' that kills the vibes between you and someone else. That is when all these symptoms comes into play. Because friends you make with just one 'click' are usually the first to go anyways.

What got me prompted to write this was when I was caught up with the remorse of posting something (which was not exactly what I meant) and had sweaty hands with diarrhea almost, and wishing real hard I could press delete before the damage was done. But, I guess in my case it was already done. I just had to live with it, another bleeding ulcer!

So, I now am very careful of what I post, I think through it, 'would this offend someone?' 'would it imply something I don't mean' etc, and unfortunately I sometimes take it to the next level and check if it makes me look good. Because after all the number of likes and comments on your post and photos is important in the world of networking :)

So this begs the question, are we really who we show we are, or are we showing someone we wish to be? 

I surely am not against networking of any sorts, in fact I swear by Facebook, but after many instances where a post looked incredibly funny at the time and incredibly stupid in retrospect. I think a little bit of self imposed abstinence is a good thing. 

Ever regretted Posting something about yourself?

Source : http://www.appscout.com/2010/05/regrets_only_study_charts_soci.php

I have dug my own grave in more than one instance,and statistics show that I am not alone ! don't fall prey to it. Its best to keep it simple and not use it to for (WWF )Wage wars, Whine or Flaunt.

1. Wage War : It is was never wise to wash dirty linen in public, so dont use your facebook to clear the air with a friend or colleague. It is bound to get dirty. A smarter thing would be to go offline and sort it out.

2. Whine : Have a problem with work, or your sorry love story ! try not making negativity your brand . People will begin to see you that way while you wonder why ! 


3. Flaunt:  When you are flaunting something, "a little goes a long way".Read Do not over do it. It is not cool!

Online networking is still in its adolescence and all of us will have to go through (my favorite word) growing pains with it. But, the good news is that there are no rules ! So while being as creative as we want try not letting remorse creep in by being aware of who you are in the social sense of networking !