2. Use Respectful Language
Name-calling, cursing, expressing deliberately offensive opinions—if you wouldn’t do this to the face of anyone who might conceivably see what you write, don’t write it. This also includes social media sites, forums, chat rooms, and email messages. Think it can’t be traced back to you? It can.
“Your online activities leave a digital footprint that can be difficult to erase. Information and content shared online may be stored, archived, or shared by others, even if you delete it later,” Lev says.
Being cautious about what you share helps maintain control over your digital presence. What you put online is permanent and can be used against you.
Using any sort of verbal abuse online can get you banned from your social groups. At a minimum, your remarks will likely be removed; one in three online comments is rejected by page moderators.
Keep in mind that it’s not just what you say that may be considered disrespectful, but how you say it. For instance, text in all caps is generally perceived as yelling.
Either use the shift key for capital letters or write in all lower case—but don’t use caps lock. Don’t forget to say “please” and “thank you” as appropriate.
