Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Post Something Controversial on Social Media

Social MediaPhoto byTracy Le Blanc / Pexels It became a trending story in 2018 when a woman p

It became a trending story in 2018 when a woman posted on Twitter that they had landed an internship at NASA,and then promptly lost it.Her celebratory post included foul language. When another Twitter user gently chided her overher language, she replied in an even more colorful manner.Since the exchange was hashtaggedNASA, however, the Administration heard about it and took away her internship.

Cautionary tales such as these often have little impact.People tend to believe that serious consequences are rare, and wouldn’t occur to them.It’s important to realize that they aren’t as rare as they seem, however.While you do have the right to free speech, posting a controversial opinion can get back to your employer, and hurt you professionally.

Before you post to social media, it’s important to ask yourself a few questions and think about what could possibly go wrong.

Ask yourself what your employer’s social media policy is

Many employers publish detailed company policies to do with what’s allowed and what isn’t.Employees are forbidden from sharing information that they’ve learned over the course of their jobs, for instance.They’re also forbidden from responding to customer feedback out of their personal social media accounts.

Some kinds of employees can be fired simply for publicly expressing opinions that the employer doesn’t agree with. Labor laws don’t protect at-will employees, for instance.

Ask yourself what would happen if your boss saw your post?

You can’t be sure if your boss or colleagues follow you on Twitter (X) or Facebook.Even if they don’t, they could, very well, accidentally chance uponyour profile when searching for news to do with the company.It’s important to remember that employees represent their company at all times, even outside of working hours.If you’re seen making statements that the company finds objectionable, there could be consequences.If you don’t have the privacy settings that will keep your boss and colleagues out of your social media accounts, you should be careful to not say anything that could be problematic.

Ask yourself if you’re parting withconfidential information

While youprobably know that you shouldn’t divulge sensitive company information,it’s possible that it doesn’t occur to you what exactly constitutessensitive information.You may find yourself sharing confidential information in a post that’s meant to show your followers how proud you are to work for your employer, for example.In general,it’s never safe to talk about your coworkers or clients, about company strategies, and about internal announcements that haven’t yet been made public.

Askyourself if social media is the best way to express what you have to say

While social media may be a convenient way to get your thoughts out to a wide audience, it’s sometimes much safer to share things offline, where there’s no record of your activity.It’s important to ask yourself if it would be safer to say something in person or on the phone,rather than through social media.

Ask yourself if what you’re saying aligns with your personal brand

Building a personal brand is an important way to develop your career.Even if you may think of yourlife on social media as your personal business, it does affect your career.If something you want to say doesn’t fit in with the image that you attempt to build at work, you should probably not say it on social media.

It’s important to make wise choices about posting on Facebook, Twitter (X) or Instagram.While these platforms encourage you to be yourself and say anything that comes to your mind, it’s important to remember that businesses don’t want to be seen employing people who think unpopular thoughts, or ones who divulge sensitive information to the public.It’s important to remember that you always represent your company when you work for them.