Whether we like it or not, people make perceptions of everyone. Whatever people see of others are mostly based on how one person looks, one person acts and nowadays, what a person posts online.
And whether we are aware of it or not, we leave marks online – “digital tattoos” printed on our online personality – our accounts.
And you might think, “hey, I don’t care. What I care about are what the people most important to me think about it.”
While this belief is true, since the people closest to you are the most important, you may not know how your next prospective employer, next possible client or business partner might see you after seeing your profile online… or probably even the parents of your girlfriend or boyfriend.
Chances are, they will rely on Google, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to check out on you first.
And for those people, your online profile and the things you post online might bear weight on the decisions they make of how they will perceive you.
Impressions is what people have the moment they encounter you the first time. And if the virtual first encounter of you seem a bit off, there is a big chance that your prospective employer might not even invite you for an interview.
They can and will paint a perception of you in their minds. And whether you like it or not, that perception is the closest reality they have of you – without you even having a chance of defending or refuting it.
So does this mean that you have to be sooooo cautious and “OC” about what you post on the internet?
Not
While I am an advocate of expressing oneself online, I am also for the sense of balance, decency and self-awareness.
It is my belief that whatever we post online is a shadow of what we really are as a person. Each post is a virtual tattoo you mark on yourself online that other people see of you.
And the virtual “YOU” you make through your profile and post may help or hurt you in the real world.
Others have been hated, bashed and even bullied that they had to deactivate all their accounts online, just for ONE WRONG POST.
I can’t imagine how those people have been and are going through.
While this may not be the “end-of-the-world” -like scenario, this may disrupt the normal cycle of the people affected because of a careless post. And sometimes one careless post online can DRASTICALLY change a person and the people around him or her for their lifetime (eg. scandals).
So having that sense of awareness of how you conduct yourself online is a thing you can consider.
Because we might be able to erase our posts or edit them after realizing our mistakes, but some are just irreversible and we might be bearing the gravity of its consequences in our lifetime, or even pass it to the people around us.
Like what this photo that has become a meme online, in the end, we might regret doing, posting, saying online. So be a more responsible netizen, you have the power in your hands.
Rey Belen