Did You Really Want to Say That on Facebook?

If you’ve been on Facebook for a while, you have probably come across a post or two that brought to mind the following question: “Did you really want to say THAT on Facebook?” I ran across two such issues this week.

Sally Socialite:
Posted on a Facebook group of about 4000 people was a notification that one of its members was leaving. She said she was a member of a few other active groups, one of them had to go and THIS one was it. She wished everyone well and informed them that she would formally leave in two days.

While she had left a few comments, she wasn’t the moderator or even a regular contributor. So announcing to almost 4000 people that you are leaving the group seemed a tad arrogant. Further, there’s really no nice way to say that you’d rather spend your time on three other groups, but “THIS one is it” doesn’t even come close.

Lastly, if you’re going to leave a group, why not leave now? The implication, to me anyway, was that she was waiting around to see who begged her to stay. No one did. In fact, though the group had comments on every other post, this post remained the one without a single response.

I think the polite way to leave a large group is to quietly unsubscribe. If you are the moderator or a frequent contributor whose absence would be noticed, you can simply say you aren’t going to be able to contribute to the group any longer. You might cite a job change, more household responsibilities, a health problem (or anything other than preferring the company of another group over this one) as the reason.

Stanley Sob Story
While it is more common to find a Facebook bio that claims your potential “friend” is Superman, Einstein and Michael Jackson all rolled into one, I found a few who like to complain. I’m fairly certain you wouldn’t find this technique in How to Win Friends and Influence Facebook.

He says he works at an entry level job where he “gets no kind of respect” and lists several grievances against the company which he refers to by name and by specific location-just in case any management, who might have noticed, wasn’t sure which franchise was involved!

First, reading this makes me feel like I’m eavesdropping on a private conversation and/or participating in gossip. While his purpose may be to elicit compassion, the use of profanity (not to mention poor spelling and grammar) doesn’t endear me to his plight. Lastly, I can’t see myself having a meaningful friendship with someone who keeps private all personal information save the sordid details of his unfortunate career.

I’ve said it before, Facebook is a public venue where you meet and greet. Be careful what information you give away, especially to your employer and especially in this type of economy. First impressions are just as important online as they are offline at a party. Nobody wants to feel as if they are second best (or was that 4th?) and very few are attracted to a vulgar complainer.

What say you? Have you encountered some things people have said on Facebook that left you thinking, “Did you really want to say THAT on Facebook?”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:  JoJo Tabares holds a degree in Speech Communication, but it is her humorous approach to communication skills which has made her a highly sought-after Christian speaker and writer. Her articles appear in homeschool publications, such as Homeschool Enrichment Magazine and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, which also endorses her Say What You Mean curricula. You can also find JoJo on web sites such as Crosswalk.com and Dr.Laura.com. For more information on communication FUNdamentals and Christian-based communication skills for the whole family, please visit http://www.ArtofEloquence.com.