How Students Can Avoid Oversharing on Social Media

As parents and educators, we understand the repercussions of oversharing on social media and online. However, for students who are just gaining access to social media, understanding what and when to post doesn’t always come as easy.

Parents want to ensure that their children are making wise choices when they post online–and above all–they want to encourage their children to use social media in a way that won’t have a negative effect on their reputation. So, we asked 5 experts to share the consequences of oversharing on social media and tactics students can use to avoid making these mistakes.

1. If you’re not sure what to post, ask a parent or counselor

Yariv Alpher, Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions

College applicants need to be aware of what others can find about them on social networks and make sure it reflects well on them. For better or for worse, social media has become an established factor in college admissions, and it’s important for applicants to make wise decisions. If you’re not sure what to post, ask a parent or high school counselor. If you’re still not sure, then the best course of action might be to not post it at all. While we live in an age of likes and retweets, you don’t have to share everything.

2. Post cautiously on social media

Sage Singleton, SafeWise

While we all want to post about our upcoming vacation, new home or weekend plans, it’s important to post with caution. Social media gives everyone, including strangers, a clear view into your world, leaving you vulnerable and exposed. Wait until after a vacation or activity to post pictures and never check in at a hotel or airport. This will keep you and your home safe while you are out.

3. Oversharing can lead to lost opportunities

Eric Anthony, Streaming Observer

Oversharing online can lead to not getting hired for a job. Nowadays, your social profiles are going to be looked through before you come in for a job interview. If you overshare online, it can be a sign of lacking social intelligence or social boundaries – both things that are good to have in the workplace.

4. Be selective when using social media

Danyal Effendi, PureVPN

Oversharing your information online can have many disruptive consequences such as damaged professional reputation, cyber bullying, burglary, and divorce/break ups.

According to a research by Jobzed, 53% of organizations use social media to research job candidates. Oversharing can leave a bad image with potential employers and may cause rejection. Cyber bullying of kids, especially teenagers is done by information obtained through social media. Oversharing can lead to an incident of burglary, theft or a greater damage.

The best way to avoid such mistakes is to be very selective while using social media. Don’t post everything or anything. Don’t tag yourself and your family when you are on a trip. Use VPN to hide your IP and system path and encrypt your internet traffic.

Through these actions, students can minimize the negative impact of social media.

5. Take your time before posting

Joseph Thomas, A Bit Above

Record anything controversial or exceedingly personal you'd like to post, then review it for a day or two.

Oversharing online can have profound consequences for a student’s professional life. Selective employers, private high schools, universities and technical degree programs can all ask to see a student’s social media accounts during an interview. While they can’t compel you to share this information, refusing to share raises an immediate red flag.

The best way to avoid a blunder? Take your time prior to posting: record anything controversial or exceedingly personal you’d like to post, then review it for a day or two. In a different state of mind, you might think better of it, or notice something problematic you previously overlooked.

Conclusion

Oversharing online is a common mistake among many social media users. Teaching students these five tips will help them think twice about what they are positng on social media so they can have fun and Shine Online.