By John Oyadougha.
In a previous article, General Tips for Millennials, I gave a quick insight into how social media and the entire Internet is impacting our lives as young people. This impact is sometimes negative and other times positive. The basic truth is that social media and the Internet in general is a basic innovation that’s out to make life easier for us, it then depends on how you use it. That is why there’s no straight answer as to whether social media has done more harm than good. Social media and the Internet in general is a good thing that has Come to stay.
A lot of awful things happen on the Internet, it is the breeding ground for a lot of evil things that we know about today. One aspect of the Internet that many people do not know about is the dark net. It is the market place for illicit drugs, weapons, terrorism and so on. It is also a useful tool for investigative Journalism. Haven highlighted some of the horrible aspects of the Internet, it is equally important to bring to our knowledge that the Internet is one of the best things that has ever happened to humanity.
As a young person, it is important that you positively harness the power of the Internet to your advantage. What ever you do in life, I bet the Internet can be of help in achieving your dreams. It is no news how young minds like John Paul, Cameraman.ng, Edusko, SabiApp, Riby, Twizzle Online etc are all using social media to promote what they do. This same Internet has also led to the destruction of may young people. Of course that isn’t a news. I promised to share with us how social media prevented a young lady from getting her dream job. She Applied to an Admin position in the company, well qualified eloquent and elegant young lady, she passed the interview but then when we checked her activities on social media, it was obvious that she spends most of her time on social media. The frequency of her tweets and Instagram posts clearly shows that she was going to use the companies Internet on social media and would not focus on the job. She was denied the job and later called upon to fill a position in social media management for the company.
It was important to check out this lady’s social media life because who we are online is a reflection of who we are in the real life. Infact for most of us, we show our real self online more than we do in the real life. Online media has made us dual citizens and this has made it more difficult for our parents to monitor who we truly are.
Most of us have also become social media addicts and this has cost us a successful life. Below are quick tips to follow as you stay online and strive to be heard in this very noisy world:
• Spend less time online if that is not your source of income
• Harness your social media skills to make a living out of it. If you have a lot of followers online, make use of if and get paid
• Be mindful what you post online, what you say on social media can come back to hunt you in the future.
• Do not post personal information such as phone numbers, house address and so on online
• Not everyone you talk to online is the real person he or she claims to be. Anyone can impersonate anyone on social media, it is just a picture and a name
• If you must meet physically someone you met online, ensure it is in a safe public place
• Paedophiles I.e Men and women who have sexual interest in children often use social media to blackmail their preys, advise your kids on do’s and don’ts on social media.
• Learn to positively use professional networks like LinkedIn. It is a platform you certainly must be a part of and utilize no matter what you do.
We cannot exhaust all safety tips as there are a number of them, just make sure not to engage in anything that you do not feel comfortable about. Contacts me if you are Confused about anything happening in your online life.