“How about I tell your boyfriend about the twelve abortions you got that you hid from him; or the fact you said you are a lesbian and needed to end things with him … or the random men that came to spend the night at your house before he moved in … I can make statuses too b***h … lm*o. Okay I’m done.”
Did you gasp? Is your mouth wide open? This one surely deserves a “whhaaaaattttt?”
That, Dazzlers, was a Facebook status I was privy to after a Facebook friend of mine commented on it. After viewing the comments I gathered that the author of the status was betrayed by someone she once considered a friend. Further comments by the author indicated the only reason she opted not to beat her betrayer to a pulp was because the traitor would call the cops.
Well, I’ve never! Who am I kidding? Of course I have! Dazzlers I know this type of behaviour is not new to you. We see it time and time again; Baby Daddy and Baby Mama drama, “f bomb the haters” and other such rants using profanity and crude insults. I have to wonder to what extent people consider the implications of their Facebook posts.
If you have already settled into a life of mediocrity and have no intentions of moving far beyond your current status, by all means carry on. Post as many middle-finger, 6:30, marijuana-smoking, drunk, lingerie-and-cleavage photographs as you like. Publicly air your dirty laundry about the father or mother of your child, talk about how much of an arse you think your boss is, defame the characters of others by tagging their names in statuses and comments like the author of our opening tirade. I mean after all, you’re not trying to move up the professional ladder or connect with people who can help propel your life to the next level, right?
“But it’s MY Facebook. I don’t understand you. What I choose to put on there is my business and neither yours nor my boss,” you may argue. That, my dear, is a very true statement indeed. “Besides, my Facebook is private anyway. Only my friends can see what I post.” All 1000-plus of them? Give me a break! Let us recall how I came across the example presented above. The author of the status is not my Facebook friend. A mutual Facebook friend of ours commented on the status and there it was in MY News Feed. Need I say more?
There is no such thing as a private Facebook page. Viewing the contents of your profile is as easy as loaning your account information to a friend to browse your page after an attempt to share a little piece of your “private” postings has failed. It is as easy as hitting “Share”, “Like”, posting a comment or copying and pasting. It is called a social NETWORK for a reason. This does not only apply to Facebook, but rather to all social networks and media. As much as we would all like to freely express ourselves without any repercussions, the world just does not work that way.
Your posts are a reflection of you. Your social network accounts are your marketing tools in the personal and professional realms. It’s not JUST Facebook or JUST Twitter or JUST Instagram. Take that into consideration the next time your middle finger itches before the camera lens.
