[CHAT] Social Networking Sites
Being on social media sites can be a great way of catching up with friends, getting group assignments done and having a laugh!
And with more people joining social media sites, these great moments can be shared among more people in real time!
But social media isn’t always the great, fun and uplifting experience that it’s made out to be. The real time nature of social media means that bullies and other people wishing to cause harm can have easier access to their targets. It also means that it is very hard for someone to take back a post or delete something that might embarrass them later, as things can be saved, screenshots can be taken and people can be linked back to the post much later on.
So join us Monday 25 June at 7:30pm AEST, when we will chat about the good, the bad and the ugly of social networking sites, and in particular what we can do about the bad things that happen and how we can keep looking after ourselves!
Hello and welcome to tonight's chat! It's all about social networking, how it can affect us and what we can do about it!
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@scared01 @mrmusic @N1ghtW1ng @DruidChild @tacticalopspaintball @AmaraLilee @Zeldasmile
I'm hoping some more people join, but I'll start with our first question now anyway 🙂
1. Do you use social networking sites? How often? (which ones?)
Heyy - popping in for a while while my dinner cooks. No promises I'll be able to last the whole session since I'm knackered to heck, so I might crash right after I get my food, but I'll give it a shot 🙂
1. Do you use social networking sites? How often? (which ones?)
Yes! Though I tend to keep my usage limited to Facebook and Quora (and the forums, naturally), and my usage of FB is usually restricted to things like messaging and a few small groups dedicated for organizing specific things (e.g. uni assignment groups, etc.). Quora's more of a news outlet that I just like to read for interesting little tidbits once in a while, though I do answer the occasional question.
Usage tends to vary based on how many thumb notifications I'm getting, hahaha. Some days/weeks if I'm really busy/concerned with other stuff I'll ignore both completely, other times if I'm bored I might use them several times a day.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Oh, I also have an Instagram, but I've updated that like, once in the past 2 years, so I'm not entirely sure it counts at this point, hahaha.
Hey @Bee and @scared01, thanks for the tags 🙂 Not sure how much of the chat I'll be able to join in sorry!
Do you use social networking sites? How often? Which ones?
I do, I use messenger/Facebook to talk to my friends but once every few days. I use tumblr and Pinterest every day and I occasionally use twitter.
I use a few different social media sites, here (Of course! 😛 ), Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram (I think that's about it)
I used them for different things so RO is pretty self-explanatory 😛
Facebook keeping in contact with people and stuff, Facebook messenger is usually how I talk to a lot of people
Instagram is for my photography 🙂
I would probably be using a form of social media everyday actually 😮
@Bee does it even count as social media though??? I'm not sure. 
Oh yeah and I forgot RO (obviously) and also fanfiction sites like Ao3 and Fanfiction.com
Why do you/don't you have social media sites?
I have Facebook for the same reason as @scared01, it's just the norm so it was the easiest way to communicate with friends. I use tumblr and Pinterest to help me find things related to my interests and identity. And I literally only made a twitter account so I could tweet Stephanie Beatriz fanmail
4. What are some positives & negatives of social networking sites / having a profile?
Positives
Keep in contact with people
Share your opinion, art, photography, talent
Find helpful resources/opinions of others in similar interests/talents
Negative
Can be a platform for bullying
Can feel overwhelming to always be connected
Can feel lonely as people only post the highlights of their life
@DruidChild absolutely 😛 Did you know you can even chat with Pinterest?
(Sorry I dropped out for a bit my net crashed)
I love pintrest @DruidChild@Beebut i didnt know you could chat on it
2. Why do/don't you have social networking sites?
FB: Honestly, it's 90% an email inbox at this point. I post on my wall around...once a year, if I'm feeling particularly active, and even then it's usually a repost of something else - an interesting article I think my friends will like, news about a new mental health program being rolled out, etc. I stopped using the wall for actual status posts a while ago because a) I like my privacy b) a lot of my wall posts in my earlier fb years were super cringeworthy and I wince internally just from remembering them. Maybe they were okay at the time, but there's not a whole lot of content out there that I think I'd be happy to have stay attached to my name 10 years later. So in the interests of not embarrassing my future self, I just don't do it anymore. 😕
The rest of the time, Facebook messenger is just an easy way to stay in touch with friends that isn't quite as formal (or slow) as email. Plus, it's handy for getting/keeping in touch with people you've just met, since odds are that you're both on Facebook, and not everyone likes handing out their phone/emails willy-nilly. Also for organizing groups and stuff. Basically, it's just useful because other people are on it.
Quora: Because there's a lot of really interesting stuff out there! You have professors explaining how quantum physics works (in a way regular people can actually understand), journalists giving their assessment of world news, economists posting ideas about trade deals...it's just neat. I wouldn't use it as a premium news source since there's obviously room for a tonne of bias, but it makes for great reading material if you have 5 minutes to spare on your commute.
4. Have you ever taken a break from social networking sites? How was it?
5. If you could share one piece of advice about social networking, what would it be?
Probably a good time to wrap things up - I'm barely pulling through the food coma, hahaha
5. If you could share one piece of advice about social networking, what would it be?
I'm gonna cheat and put two but here goes, hehehe 😛
- Be careful of what you share. Always ask "What would my mother think?" before posting anything publicly, and exercising some general caution like not leaving your primary email address/bank details around where just anyone can view them. 99% of the time you'll probably be fine, but there's no point risking becoming the 1% of unfortunates if you don't have to.
- Social media is a tool for you. Use if it's useful and if you enjoy it, but try to keep some boundaries around what you do and don't share. If you find yourself worrying about how something will look on social media, or how people are going to react, then it might be time to step back and evaluate whether or not your profile really is that important to you. It might be, but it also might not. And it's always good to know which is which.
Night guys! Glad I could make it to the end of the session 🙂
Edit: Great point @scared01! 😄
Thanks for that chat everyone. Im headed to bed now. Hope the rest of your evenings are good
5. If you could share one piece of advice about social networking, what would it be?
Take time out for you every now and then, remember that social media is usually the high lights reel of peoples' lives ❤️
