5 Online Etiquette Tips Every Social Media User Should Know

• Technology

To me, these days it feels like people treat the internet like it's "Westworld." For those who haven't seen it, "Westworld" is a TV show about a Western-style theme park inhabited by androids, where rich visitors can do anything they want to the androids with virtually no consequences. Of course, people online can have their real-life information doxxed and they can suffer legal consequences for their posts and messages, but generally speaking, people treat it like an alternate reality detached from the real one. They'll tear someone a new one for the measliest of justifications, and research papers have proven that many social networks' algorithms amplify anger and hate. When it isn't amplifying outrage, it's amplifying our worst traits. It's an utter crapfest, and we all need to step back and reevaluate how we interact with the online world.

Barring legislative power, we can't stop social media algorithms from being built to wind us up. We can curate our Instagram page, we can abandon Twitter for arguably healthier options like Bluesky, but ultimately, it comes down to individual action. Put more good into the online world, and maybe someday you'll get more good out of it.

If you want a healthier online experience, this is for you. Whether you find your blood pressure rising any time a fellow faceless internet stranger disagrees with you, or you're concerned about what (and how much) you post — and anything in between — here are the etiquette tips that may make your relationship with the web more positive, productive, and safe.

Live by the golden rule

Look at the comment section on any website — TikTok, Instagram, Reddit — and it feels less like a discussion and more like a roaring WWE stadium where the audience wants someone to take a chair to the face. The algorithms have trained us to attack over even the smallest amount of discontent, instead of giving others the benefit of the doubt. The internet would arguably be a far better place if everyone lived by the golden rule: Do to others what you would have them do to you. Or my personal favorite variation of this maxim: Do to others what they would have you do to them. In other words, exhibit empathy. Try to see things from their perspective, and if you can't, take the high road.

During every online encounter, put yourself in other people's shoes. You wouldn't want somebody leaving an angry, mean-spirited comment on your post, so why would you do the same? Remind yourself that the person at the other end is a living, breathing human being, not your personal verbal punching bag. To be fair, there's always a chance that you're actually talking to a bot, but you should still strive to live by this principle, with the assumption the person you're talking to is always real.

There are very few situations where treating someone negatively at the outset is warranted. Even if they started it, it's best to just disengage. Block and report the people who demonstrate truly unacceptable behavior (racists, sexists, the obvious culprits) so you don't put extra miles on your heart interacting with people who don't act in good faith. And if it's too tempting to lash out, maybe just turn off comments on your posts or avoid comment sections altogether.

Don't share anything that could come back to bite you

They say that once you post something on the internet, it's there forever. Now, this isn't technically true. Information on the web is only there for as long as its servers are up. However, old resurfaced posts get people fired all the time, and even when people are smart enough to delete dumb things they said in the past, sites like the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine collect them. The Wayback Machine just hit one trillion webpages recently, including things you probably thought were safe, like your old MySpace profile.

Even if the Wayback Machine doesn't (or can't) archive something that you posted, you simply have no way of being sure someone didn't save it to their own device to post elsewhere at their own discretion. In fact, there are people out there who screenshot things they find the second they see them, on the off chance it later gets deleted. And people are fast when it comes to spreading the word on some juicy tidbit they stumble upon. In a recent example, the Steam Machine's price might have just leaked thanks to some random, obscure Czech website.

The point is, be exceptionally careful what you choose to post or share on the internet. We're not just talking about dumb things you said that could cause you to lose your job — or have a new job interview process go sour — but also personal information that you wouldn't want a stranger to have. If you don't want people to know about familial secrets, relationship drama, medical issues, anything like that, don't post it. Period.

People must consent before you share photos or videos of them

Consent matters. If we're going to have a society built on respect and dignity, we have to ask people for their permission before doing something that involves them. Sadly, we live in an era where people feel no compunction for posting pictures of others without asking whether or not they're okay with it. In fact, some people treat it like their God-given right to go so far as to record strangers in public and mock them online, based on the embarrassingly weak argument that it's "not illegal." Out of respect for others — family members, friends, acquaintances, co-workers, anyone — ask for their consent before you post media featuring them. It's the right thing to do.

This goes back in part to the golden rule. Put yourself in other people's shoes. Some don't care if you post about them, some would prefer to vet those pics first, some won't be okay with it at all — especially since those pictures would be on a profile they have no control over. If you think of yourself as a considerate, compassionate person, then you'd probably agree that people deserve some control of how their likeness appears online. You get annoyed to find out your smart TV was secretly spying on you, so hopefully you can understand why some people would be reticent to have their face appearing somewhere online without their knowledge or willingness. Don't assume that, because you'd be okay with it, others are.

Naturally, there are exceptions to this. If someone is doing something legally or morally wrong, then you may have very good reason to be filming them for posterity. Otherwise, just ask. It takes all of 10 seconds, and if they say no, you'll only have one less post.

If it's fake, disclose it

Generative AI, for better or worse, is here to stay. Anyone can create realistic photos with free tools like Google Gemini. Realistic videos have also gotten scary good. Sometimes the result is harmless, like that video of cute little bunnies captured on a security camera as they bounce on a trampoline. Sometimes it's downright dystopian; After Trump ordered Nicolas Maduro to be kidnapped out of Venezuela, videos on the internet falsely portrayed crowds of locals applauding the incursion. If you're going to post any realistic, AI-generated photo or video, it is your moral obligation to state so openly, not pretend it's real.

Why? Hopefully the most obvious reason is that you'd be lying, and the second is that no one wants to live in a society where we can no longer trust seemingly realistic videos and photos as proof of anything. Plus, AI-generated content has already had real-world consequences. You've probably heard stories of how AI-generated content has been used to influence elections, fake evidence in courtrooms, and even impacted stock prices. People make decisions and change their minds based on pictures and videos they see, so to trick them with realistic-looking fakery is just flat-out wrong.

We'd also argue this extends to other things, like using AI to create art that you post like it's yours. Not to get too deep into the weeds of the morality of AI art generation, but let's agree on this much: Posting AI art as your own (without clarifying it's AI) is messed up. If you use it to make people think you're good at sketching, painting, whatever, stop. Disclose it. Disclose it all, even if it's just a haiku cooked up by ChatGPT.

Sleep on that post or comment

"Sleep on it" is universally good advice. There probably isn't a decision in the world that can't be made better after letting your emotions cool off and giving your brain some proper time to mull it over. Posting or commenting is one thing you should sleep on more often. If you're in an emotionally charged state — particularly if you're angry or annoyed — and you're two seconds away from cracking your knuckles and writing an eviscerating diatribe, stop. Save that post, leave that tab open, then walk away. Go outside, have a coffee, do some yoga — or get a good night's sleep — and maybe even forget about it for a while.

There's a good chance that once you return, you'll hit delete. Realize it was a silly or short-sighted thing to have even thought, let alone yeeted out into the internet void. If nothing else, you'll be glad you exhibited some restraint. In my personal experience, there are very, very few times that comments or posts like these were worth it in the heat of the moment. Go through your own comment history, and you'll probably see at least a couple that invoke a cringe.

If something is really chapping your behind and you still want to speak up about it hours, days, or weeks later — and I mean really want to talk about it — then maybe you're justified in putting on the mask and answering the Keyboard Warrior bat signal. But even so, the same recommendations above apply. Be respectful and considerate of the people you're talking to. You get back what you put out into the world.