With 72% of people using social media in some way, there’s a good chance many of your family members will add you on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media platforms.
It seems like a great way to connect with the relatives you don’t see often, but what happens with your cousin starts spreading rumors or your mom posts your deepest secrets? Airing family issues on social media can make the situation worse and strain family relationships.
Keep reading to learn how you can keep family problems off of social media.
Set Boundaries
No matter how much you try, the only social media behaviors you can control are your own. Setting boundaries for how you use social media and with whom you interact can help you avoid family drama or minimize the impact on yourself.
Decide that you won’t engage in family drama online. Limit the type of posts you make to prevent potential drama. You might limit which family members you’re friends with online.
Change Privacy Settings
Limiting the reach of your posts and other people’s posts on your social media pages can reduce some potentially embarrassing or frustrating moments. On Facebook, you can hide your posts from specific people or groups of people. This allows you to post what you want without your relatives commenting and potentially bringing up family drama.
You can also use privacy settings to prevent people from posting on your wall. If you have a family member who likes to come to your profile and cause problems, this can prevent that. You can also hide posts other people leave on your Facebook page, which allows you to hide those offensive posts relatives leave.
Call out Bad Behavior
If you have family members who drag family drama onto social media or stir up problems online, have an honest but respectful conversation with them. Let them know which behaviors you don’t appreciate, and ask them to stop.
If you’re dealing with older relatives, they might not fully understand how social media works or the potential impact on you and others. Explain to them how an embarrassing post makes you feel or could impact your social and work life. If someone shares personal information about you, it could get back to your boss, which might affect your employment, for example.
Block Repeat Offenders
Sometimes you simply need to cut ties with difficult family members online. Blocking someone on social media doesn’t mean you’re removing them from your life completely. It just means you’re limiting your online contact to protect yourself and your privacy.
When you block someone on Facebook, you stop them from being able to see your profile and posts, messaging you on Messenger, or having any interactions with you on Facebook. This strategy is useful if you have a family member that provokes you online or doesn’t listen after you repeatedly ask them to stop certain behaviors.
Blocking someone could cause more tension between the two of you. When the person realizes they’re blocked from your Facebook page, they might become offended and cause more problems, so use this option carefully.
Keeping Your Family Issues Off of Social Media
If you have family members who love to air dirty laundry, it can be difficult to keep your family issues off of social media. Controlling your own behavior, setting boundaries, and discussing the issues with family members can help.
Visit our archives for more useful tips about being online.
The post Online Drama and Your Mama: How to Keep Family Issues Off of Social Media appeared first on Cloud Media News.