Social media makes many of our lives go ’round these days (hey, you’re using it as we speak!), but there are plenty of bad habits that can make the online experience a big headache. From agressive “marketing†to downright rudeness, some folks would do better to stay in ‘the real world’ and give the rest of us some internet peace! Here are 10 of the biggest social networking infractions we’d like to see go in 2011:
1) Over Zealous Party Promotion: Many of us have learned to stop accepting friend or ‘follow’ requests from event planners all together, but that still doesn’t protect us from the onslaught invites to parties we never plan to attend. Promoters set up groups on Facebook, invite you without your consent and blow up your inbox with reminders about some raggedy party at some hole in the wall club that’s gonna be “like a movieâ€. Nothing worse than seeing the red light flash on your Blackberry, hoping that it’s a BBM from your sweetie…and finding out that a celebrity guest host (usually a Vh1 castoff) will be hosting said movie-like party. *clicks ‘delete from friends’*
2) Trolling: There are some nasty, lonely people on the internet who have nothing better to do than to post racist, sexist or otherwise inflammatory thoughts on blogs and Twitter for no reason other than to get some attention. Don’t get fooled in to debating with these folks! Hopefully, when ‘JustTellingTheTruth79′ sees that no one is gonna engage his comment about ‘stupid Black b*tches’, he’ll log off for good.
3) Facebook Poking As “Flirtingâ€: It’s creepy, it’s super 2004-ish and it’s creepy. Stop it.
4) Facebook Friending As “Flirtingâ€: While we’re on the subject, Facebook is not Match.com. It’s one thing to look up the cutie in your volunteer group and add them; it’s another to search people’s friends lists or geographical areas trolling for dates. There is something incredibly icky about getting a friend request from a complete stranger that includes the words “Hey, pretty lady. Are you single?†While the internet is officially a normal space for dating or mating, there are plenty of sites that are designed for just that. Use them.
5) Silly Screenames: You know what, Shey GotDatGoodGoodSoUNeed2HollaAtChaGurl Jenkins? You were really nice in high school and I’m sure that you still are. However, I’m a little bit embarrassed every time you pop up in my mini feed. And I think you should be, too.
