SOCIAL MEDIA & BEYOND

 

Social media isn’t real life.

It’s easy for anyone to get caught up with what they see on social media, but you should remember that social media is not real life. What people put on social media is usually only the best parts of their life—the cool trips, the material things, the best photos of themselves, their friends, or their relationship. Life is not always perfect so don’t use social media to judge what your life should be like.

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Be careful what you do because it’s permanent.

You may think that what you share on social or through text can be kept private, but that's not the case. What goes on social media or what you say and send through text is permanent. Once you release it, it will never be private again. Keep this in mind and don’t share anything that you wouldn't want everyone seeing.

 

Keep a healthy balance online.​

It's easy to get addicted to social media, but be mindful of how much time you spend on it. While social media is a great way to see what other people are up to and connect with friends, it also takes time away from other activities. Time is special and spending too much time on social media is a waste of your time!

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Use privacy settings.

Make sure your privacy settings are turned on so that people outside of your friend group or network don't have access to things you post. Even if you think that you have privacy settings turned on, it's good to double check them every now and then since the terms of use or privacy policy change often. Also, make sure that your location settings are off and never visible to the general public.

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Media isn't always the best picture of a healthy relationship.

There is a difference between healthy passion and unhealthy passion. Healthy passion feels good and makes you happy. Unhealthy passion feels confusing and scary. Even though movies and TV shows often show examples of unhealthy passion, in real life, people in healthy relationships balance their emotions with respect for what the other person is feeling too.

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Sending and sharing explicit photos or videos is illegal.

Sending, receiving or sharing nudes of yourself or someone else is never okay. It's illegal to send or have explicit photos of anyone under the age of 18.

Protect yourself by:

• Not sexting. In other words, never send sexually explicit or suggestive images, messages, or videos. This is the only 100% sure way to avoid possibly being accused of wrong doing.

• If you receive a picture:

  • Delete it 

  • Do not forward it

• Don’t ask or pressure someone to send you pictures.

• These laws still apply on social media apps like SnapChat.