The online world is as much filled with positivity as it is with negativity.
But who wants negativity? NOBODY.
By following these tips you’ll be protecting yourself from danger and hopefully have a much happier experience when using the Internet and social media.
Spend 15 minutes going through your social media settings to check the privacy.
I bet so many people reading this will think I can’t be bothered or it’s not worth it.
Well, IT IS!
Have you ever thought about how easy it is for strangers to view your profiles?
The followers you have that you don’t know.
The friend requests you’ve ignored.
You can check who views everything from your posts, personal details, comments and even your likes through going to the settings on your apps.
The best thing is to set everything to friends only, that way you’ll know who’s viewing your content and avoid judgement from haters.
Settings > Privacy
Here’s some examples for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat;
Turn your location settings off for apps.
By default, our location is always turned on for apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
But there is absolutely no need for your location to be on ‘always’.
Often, your location is available for anyone to see when you post something-which could possibly leave you venerable.
My advice would be-if you wanted to post something about a place you were at, wait until you’ve left to tag the location which you can do by searching it rather than it being automatic.
Turning your location settings off for apps is super easy, here’s where you can do it on your settings for an iPhone or Android:
Don’t let your friend be a bully.
Now you’d think this was pretty obvious. But I’m sure we have all been in a situation or heard of one where a bad comment has been made on a picture or a nasty message has been sent to somebody.
Don’t be that person who sits back and lets it happen.
Try to advise your friend that what they are doing is NOT funny NOT cool and WILL hurt whoever its targeted at.
Perhaps you’ve been on the other side of the line receiving negativity from somebody else. Knowing the hurt it gave you, why encourage somebody else to do the same?
Be the positive influence.
Don’t let your friend be a bully and if they won’t accept your advice, consider removing yourself from the situation.
Unfollow/remove anything that doesn’t make you happy.
The internet is crammed with content, some we like, some we don’t.
Some of it makes us happy, some of it won’t.
With so much to choose from and undoubtably many things on there able to make you feel positive, why choose to follow anything that doesn’t?
Take 10 minutes when you have some spare time to remove ANYTHING that doesn’t make you happy.
Check back in a few weeks and see if you notice any changes in your feelings.
Since doing this myself, I feel much clearer in my mind and definitely happier.
Use the BLOCK and REPORT button.
If you’ve been a victim of online hate or bullying or have simply seen something you disagree with or that makes you feel uncomfortable- use the block/report button.
Perhaps you’re receiving messages from a stranger or somebody is spamming you?
BLOCK/REPORT them.
Don’t hesitate to use this tool, sometimes the sooner you do the better to avoid constant harassment or annoyance.
Have a social media detox.
More often than not I’m hearing how social media is negatively affecting people’s mental health.
According to the findings of a survey by Code Computerlove, the average screen time in the UK for 16-24-year olds is 3 hours and 23 minutes per day – a whopping 50 days every year.
Just how crazy does that sound?
So yes, please do give yourself a well-deserved detox every now and again.
Whether that’s a ban after a certain time every day, or a solid week without social media, even a month it depends how much you like a challenge…
Don’t be that person with their head buried so deep in their phone they miss all of the beauty around them.
The constant connection with the online world often creates a disconnect from the real world so a detox is crucial as it enables you to reconnect.
It’s probably impossible to completely protect ourselves from danger online, that’s why using these tips as guidelines to protecting ourselves is important.
Why let something we have control over hurt us? These quick and easy tips could save you a lot of hassle in the future.
