Personal boundaries on social networks

The topic of personal boundaries is charged and difficult. Many people have problems with boundaries in general. We often encounter situations where we are learning how to respect the boundaries of others and how to defend our personal space when someone enters it without invitation.

In the 21^st century, our online life makes up a big chunk of our everyday interactions. We communicate on forums, chat on social networks, we tweet, we post photos on Instagram, update our status on FB, leave comments on posts of other people. This all is an important part of our lives. Is there a special digital etiquette?

The answer is “yes and no”. “No” because in its essence, communication online and offline should be based on respect for other people and their lives. But “yes” because there are certain nuances of virtual communication.

There is an opinion that if a person posted something on a social network (a photo or a post) everyone has a right to write something nasty under the pretext of expressing their personal opinion. Why not? Since the person posted it – they should be ready for such “feedback”! However, when we walk down the street we also in some sense “post” ourselves out there. Should we be ready for someone to come over and to tell us something like “your makeup sucks today” or “your coat was in fashion 5 years ago – time to buy a new one”?

It is pretty obvious that such comments would be blatantly rude and tactless. The same applies to online interactions. A personal account on a social network is a personal space. There, one should behave as a guest. If everyone knew it “by default” it would be so much more pleasant and safer to spend time online.

It is worth mentioning that you should not post on social networks all the details. Things that are important, intimate, or bring up a lot of emotions – when a wrong word can hurt you – all these things are better kept provide. Or at least they should be posted on a restricted page for close friends. Otherwise, there is a risk that some nasty comments may cause trauma.

Since our page is our personal “home” we have a full right to keep out those who came just to leave dirty footprints on the floor or to wipe their dirty hands on our curtains. Therefore, we block those people without hesitation – we need to protect our personal space.

What other rules are there?

Respectfulness. Being polite, no familiarity with people whom you don’t know or don’t know well.

Attention to your counterpart. That means asking “Is it ok if I send you a voice message?”, “May I write to you on WhatsApp late at night?”

So, everything is quite simple. Treat others the way you want to be treated. This is a good rule for both online and offline communication.