Social Media Shenanigans: Scare Tactics

I’m the sort of mother who, when all else fails, I resort to scare tactics. Hardly admirable and probably frowned upon by the supermoms out there but it has worked more times than I can count. So, almost halfway through my posts, I thought I should try the same method by recounting some stories where ordinary people had their lives turned upside down by their posts. Our posts may seem like a trivial part of our lives but a solitary post at the wrong time, to the wrong audience can start us down a path from which we can never return. If you thought the mob of the 1930’s was a scary bunch, you don’t want to mess with the Internet mob. As far as your posts can reach, there's a mob ready to deal with you if they don't like what they see.

Let’s talk Apple. I’m always made fun of by my colleagues because of my Apple devices (mostly gifts), who I have named George, Freddy, Andrew, Harry and Edward. I sing their praises as if I’m paid to-unlike their one employee who decided to post all the issues he had with his company on his Facebook feed. A colleague who happened to be on the same platform mentioned it to his employer and you can guess what came next. Although the disgruntled employee took Apple to an employment tribunal, they ruled in favour of Apple because he had breached business conduct policy.

Several teachers have got their marching orders after posting photo’s of themselves with glasses of alcohol in not one, but both their hands. Despite being on holiday at the times their antics were made an appearance on social media platforms, irate parents took the matter very seriously and teachers were forced to resign.

Over the last several years, Halloween traditions seem to have taken off in South Africa. But dress up is not all fun in games. Several years ago in the US, a certain young lady decided to dress up as a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, little realizing that her distasteful humor was going to land her in hot water. As soon as people started taking notice of her post and photo, she started receiving death threats and hate messages. Some clever, skilled people even managed to dig up provocative photos that she thought was well hidden. Sure she apologized and made every attempt to delete the original photo but she paid dearly for her horrible choice of a Halloween costume.

Then there was the Chrysler employee who mistakenly tweeted his personal opinion on the business account he was managing. Using expletives to express his annoyance quickly had his employers on his back. No one was really surprised of course, when he was fired.

Next comes the particularly disgusting security guard, who felt the need to document his flatulence chronicles while at work. This went on for 6 months until his famous videos found their way to his employers who didn’t find his antics amusing at all.

Finally, the young lady who was hired at a daycare facility only to post that she hates working at daycare and really hates being around kids. Hours before she could start work she was unceremoniously fired over the phone.

These stories are enough to make me think thrice before I posy any story to my timeline. My final thoughts on this would be:

• Do use common sense when posting

• Do remember that your private life is really not private once you decide to use any social media platform

• Do be prepared for the Internet mob to hunt you down if they don’t like what you post