Think Before You Post
Social media can be a great way to discover interests and keep updated about your loved ones and the communities you follow. However, it can also be a perilous space if you're not cautious about what you share online. Before you broadcast your life, take pause: here are 10 things you should never post on social media—and 10 you can.
1. Overly Personal Information
This probably goes without saying, but you should never share overly personal information about yourself (or others around you) for the entire world to see. This includes sensitive documents, like identification numbers, passports, credit cards, and passwords, or even traceable digits, like flight tickets. serial numbers, and package tracking details.
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2. Negative Comments About Past or Current Employers
Unless your employer did something illegal or downright harmful, don't air out your work drama on social media where everyone can listen and chime in. You might not think anything of it in the moment, but it could cause trouble if potential employers come across your posts later on.
3. Negative or Targeted Posts About Someone You Don't Like
If you have a fallout with a close friend, family member, or coworker, follow the same rule as the previous point: don't air out drama surrounding your personal life on social media. Sure, it might make for an interesting story on TikTok, but it might just come back to haunt you.
4. Pictures & Videos of Kids Without Explicit Consent
You may think it harmless to post a photo or video of a cute kid you saw on the street, but if you don't know them, and you didn't ask their parents for consent to post it online, don't do it. You should also exercise caution with your own kids—unless you're okay with the entire world seeing (and knowing) everything about your children down to the last detail, and inadvertently allowing mean-spirited people to make anonymous comments about them.
5. Strangers Without Explicit Consent
Again: you might think it harmless to post a photo or video of someone you don't know, just because you wanted to comment on them. But whether or not that comment is positive or negative, unless you got their explicit permission to post their face online, keep it to yourself. Or better yet, delete it from your camera roll. Think about it: How would you feel if someone took a photo or video of you and published it online without you knowing?
6. Inappropriate Jokes & Hateful Comments
Hateful comments and inappropriate jokes should never be posted online for everyone to see. Remember the rule: if you have nothing kind to say, don't say it at all. Even if you think it's funny now, your words might just come back to bite you.
7. Your Current Location
If you're traveling, keep your location off. Even if you're not someone well-known on the internet, you still don't want to be putting a red pin on yourself and telling everyone where you are. Plus, sharing about vacation plans may make you an easy target for break-ins and scams.
8. Reposting Someone Else's Work & Claiming It As Your Own
Creatives will know just how irritating this one can be—imagine putting in your blood, sweat, and tears into something, only to have someone repost it and claim it as their own! Unless the creator gave you explicit permission to post their work, assume that it's strictly forbidden.
9. Private Conversations
Private conversations between you and your friends, family, or strangers, such as those from a dating app, shouldn't be shared without consent, either. Again, try placing yourself in the other's shoes and ask if you would be okay having your information and words posted online for everyone to see without ever being warned about it.
10. Anything You'll Regret in the Future
What should you never post on social media? Anything you'll regret in the future. Of course, that can be hard to do if you're hopping on the internet at a young age, given that you might not know what's fine to post or not until you're more mature. But that's why it's so important for parents and guardians to educate teens about social media and to set up controls that limit what they can see and interact with, so that they don't potentially do things they'll wish late on that they hadn't.
What can you post on social media, then? While you should still exercise caution, let's cover 10 things that are generally okay to publish.
1. Pet Photos
Want to show off your pooch? Go ahead! Many pet owners love to make a separate account for their furry friends, posting anything from teaching them tricks to taking them to the groomer's, and any content involving these little animals will always be widely appreciated.
2. Personal Achievements
Personal achievements like graduation, work promotions, career changes, and awards all deserve their own special post. You deserve to celebrate your accomplishments, so why not have everyone join in and celebrate with you? Go brag about it!
3. Creative Work
Creative work like art, writing, poetry, music, dance, and photography also deserve their own posts. After all, you spent time crafting it, so it's natural that you want to showcase it. Plus, keeping a record of your art acts like a portfolio, too, which you can present to potential employers.
4. Kind Words
Came across a post you like and wanted to leave a kind comment? Go ahead—the poster would likely greatly appreciate your words, especially if it's on their personal work or creations. Sharing support within digital communities builds a friendly space, so positive engagement is always encouraged.
5. General Life Updates
General life updates—anything from sharing your current favorite song to getting married to the love of your life—are more than worthy of their own posts. While you should be careful not to reveal your personal life in too much detail, you can still treat your social media accounts like a "public diary" you share with your close friends and family.
6. Hobbies
Got other passions and hobbies, such as sports? Feel free to post about your interests in athletics, too, especially if you're on a team yourself. Or maybe you're a fan of an artist or band, and need a dedicated platform to show your love and enthusiasm. Either way, these posts can make for fun community spaces online.
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7. Recommendations
If you have a restaurant, book, or music suggestion, you can also treat your social media account like a recommendation page, where you can list off your personal tastes and potentially connect others to hidden gems. This is especially encouraged in dedicated community spaces—think BookTok on TikTok.
8. Supporting a Cause
Whether you're supporting a cause you care for or want to bring more people's attention to it, these posts are often highly encouraged as well—unless it's for something controversial. But if you're raising money for a charity or just want to give it a shoutout, go ahead and spread the word!
9. Outfit Inspiration
Into fashion? Even if you're not a famous social media influencer, you can still post your OOTDs (outfit of the day) and share trends and styling recommendations with others. Conversely, if you're into makeup, you might instead offer tips and advice on how to best apply products on different skin types, or spread the word about your favorite brands.
10. Travel Highlights
Posting travel highlights, such as anecdotes and photos, is what keeps those memories alive. While you might want to be careful about posting real-time updates (which may make your house vulnerable to break-ins), feel free to share photo compilations of your adventures after you're safely back home.
