Social etiquette for online chatroom and social media

GONE are the days when  the social media was just a place we come to unwind and catch a breath. Today, the social media is a functional part of our lives – a lot of people spend more time on the Social media than off it.

Like every other organised clique of people, there are rules, mores, and generally, acceptable behaviour otherwise referred to as etiquette. Not knowing your chat etiquette can get you into trouble.

What are the right etiquettes for social media and online chatrooms?

Start with a short greeting

When starting a conversation with someone in a chatroom or on social media in general, you should always say “hi” or “hello” and then check to make sure it’s a good time for them to chat. Otherwise, you may be interrupting them. People have very busy lives, and If they spend a part of it chatting with you, you should consider it a favor. This is especially important when you are new to the person.

You should know the person or attempt to know the person

The social media is a leveler, you will get to meet people from all over the place, and if it’s not private media spaces like WhatsApp, you might get access to other people’s message boxes just by following them or adding them as friends. That does not mean you should go into the message box unprepared.

You want to know the person you are messaging; if you don’t, then you should have the disposition to do that once the conversation gets underway. Introduce yourself, refreshing the person’s memory about where you met or from where you got their social media handle.

Go easy with the abbreviations

Similar to texting, it’s common to use abbreviations and shortcuts such as “LOL” (laugh out loud), “np” (no problem), or “u” (you) but make sure the abbreviation you use is appropriate.

People tend to use shortcuts on social media. Just make sure people know what you’re talking about if you use shortcuts.

As a rule, the less orthodox and time-saving the abbreviation, the less justifiable it is. “brb” saves me four words (I’ll be right back); “k” saves me one letter.

Personally, I do not like abbreviations except when absolutely necessary. If you choose to use them, only use those that are widely known, which the receiver would understand the meaning of. When unsure, the safest route is to type the entire word or phrase.

Never send bad news via Instant Messaging

IM is too casual a medium to have an important conversation, particularly one that’s negative. For example, you should not IM a colleague or employee that they have not been chosen for a project. It’s difficult to know what tone you’re giving off in a short message; it is safer to stick to only neutral or good news when sending an online chat to people in your professional network.

With stories finding their ways across the different IM channels, one must be very careful of how news is being spread from your network.

Don’t use all caps

Using capital letters throughout your message is never appropriate whether you’re sending an SMS, chat message, posting a social media comment, or writing an email. The intention of people who use all caps is to get attention, but oftentimes, the result is the opposite – readers get turned off by their message. Not only is it hard to read (we’re more used to reading lowercase text), it looks like they’re angry or shouting. It’s also off-putting on social media because it makes the sender seem hungry for attention or they’re feeling self-important. Use all caps only for acronyms or for headings.

Use the right punctuations

We all know chats and social media conversations are not face-to-face. One of the ways to ease the pain, point and improve conversational flow is to use the right punctuation. End sentences with a full stop, use commas in the right places, exclaim only when necessary. Punctuation marks guide the other party on how to read your chats; it shows you want the other person to get it right.

Understand that your sense of humor is not a universal standard

This is very important, especially on mediums like Twitter, where things can spiral out of control really fast. The jokes you share with your friends might come out as offensive to a complete stranger. You should therefore know what to share and when to share it.

Social media has tremendous power; ensure you are using your social media for good.

Next week, the conversation will be about Arranged marriages – do they work? Are they better than marriages birthed out of love?

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