Social Media Netiquette

The lack of visual and audio clues when communicating over social networks causes us to do things we might not normally do in person. Consider prefacing your actions with the question, "Would I do this in a face-to-face relationship?" By doing this, you reaffirm that you're communicating with a living, feeling human being over a relatively emotionless medium.

Clearly communicating thoughts and emotions is difficult for many of us to do in person. It comes as no surprise that it's even more difficult over the cold confines of the Internet. Before you click "Send", "Submit", or "Comment", reread your words, putting yourself in the shoes of the recipient when you do. How would he or she react?

It's also useful to include emoticons (keyboard characters that represent faces) to provide a clearer interpretation of words. They're particularly useful for expressions of sarcasm or humor that are difficult to detect without tone of voice or physical expression.

You may have already observed that you and your friends interact differently online than they do in person. Significant research has given us a clearer picture of the disinhibition we often show from behind the facade of our computers.

This online disinhibition effect is essentially the removal of social barriers and restrictions that would normally occur during face-to-face encounters.

But why do we act differently on the Internet? Why do we experience disinhibition? According to Dr. John Suler of Rider University, a number of factors contribute to this difference in behavior. When it comes to online communication, we tend to lose the visual and auditory cues that help us decode the intent and meaning of a message.

Without visual and auditory clues, strange things happen, causing many people to reveal more personal things about themselves, show extraordinary acts of kindness, give harsh criticisms, or ignore others through the act of disassociation. Others may separate their online identity from real life, in essence making their online life a thing "outside" reality.

This disinhibition can be particularly prominent in the realm of social networking, which is based entirely on social interaction. On Facebook, for example, it's common for strangers to make friend requests without an introduction, a practice frowned upon with face-to-face encounters. While the rules of etiquette should also apply to social networks, disinhibition may cause us to forget that.

As social interaction increases in cyberspace, it's important to realize the impact our words can have. Without the visual or auditory cues we take for granted in the real world, we may forget the humanity of those who read them. Social netiquette provides useful rules to avoid offending other members of our virtual community.

Last update: Mar 22, 2010