by Monica Brewer

Stop.  Before you post anything on Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram, answer this one question: Do you want to send it?  If you hesitated for a couple of seconds, keep reading.

In this modern age, communicating technologically is necessary for everyday life.  It has become second nature to post anything we’re thinking or that we want to say.

The First Amendment does cover free speech and freedom to express your opinion, but it doesn’t mean you should start fights on Twitter, leave negative comments on Instagram photos, or exclude someone from a Facebook conversation.  Anything that we post online may stay online forever.

At any time, people can be watching what we post online.  Washington County Public Schools in Maryland is one of a few districts in the nation that uses a software program called Social Sentinel to monitor social media accounts of students while they’re on school property.  Certain keywords that they catch a student using will cause the students to be on the watch list.  It could affect what happens to that student in the future.

Sometimes future employers look at what you post online.  According to Forbes, 37 percent of job employers look at what social media you use.  Of employers who check, thirty-four percent  have found content that has caused them not to hire candidates.  Of those that answered the survey, about half of employers have said that the reason they didn’t hire a candidate was because of the inappropriate pictures posted online.

Forbes also proclaims that most states are “employment at will,” which means you’re not entitled to keep your job at your workplace and employers will still fire you without giving any reason why.  Posting your resume or “certain” information could cause you to get fired.

HowStuffWorks adds some tips for things we shouldn’t post online.  Some of the things include personal conversations.  We all have friends, so we can communicate through text, phone, and email.  Keep it personal if you don’t want the world to know that secret you’re keeping for someone else.

Keep your personal information offline.  Any potential predator can use that information against you.  It’s surprising to know that people can apply for loans with the little information they get online just from anyone’s profile page.

Don’t post anything online that you might regret later.  It’s simple: if you don’t want a certain video of you posted online and your subconscious tells you otherwise, then don’t.  It’ll save you from embarrassment in the long run.

Still thinking about posting right now?  I have a couple of last things to address about posting online.  If people start fighting on Twitter, don’t feed into it.  Most fights start because one or both parties want attention, so don’t feed the trolls.

Most importantly, remember that the First Amendment granted us the right to free speech and expression to say and post whatever we want,  but it doesn’t mean that you should be abusing that right.