The consequences of posting your dirty laundry on social media

People share almost everything on social media: their outfit of the day, what they're eating, their social activities, night outs with friends, their significant others, and other private details.

Some are bold enough to not only share the good times but also the bad times like when they’ve gone through depression, financial hardships, near death experiences and the loss of a loved one.

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There are some who turn social media into a secret diary/ journal of sorts - forgetting their posts are public, they post their innermost thoughts and dirt. Sometimes it’s not just dirt on themselves but also dirt on others. There are also some who think of the platforms as their best friends and share their unorthodox thoughts.

Yesterday, October 10, 2017 two grown women who happened to be best friends exposed the dirt they had on each other on Twitter. While they thought they were defending their reputations and putting each other in check, they actually were not - they just created a timeline of entertainment for Nigerian Twitter users from their pain.

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While you think the drama may stay online, it could have consequences offline in the real world. Here are some of the possible effects:

People create an impression of you

From your tweets people build a profile of you. These days when companies or head hunters are looking for potential employees or talent besides looking at your CV - social media is one of the good to places for them to explore to analyse your personality.

It could damage people’s lives and your livelihood

Your posts could hurt others - their reputations and emotions. As with the case of the feuding women yesterday, to prove their point, they pulled in innocent bystanders into the mud with them. Hurtful posts could damage relationships.

It could also affect your bread and butter. Yes - your social media post could get you fired.

Strangers know your dirt

Except you are super confident, brace yourself for walking into a room where strangers know details of your private live.

Cyber bullying

Whether you are airing dirt on yourself or others, you expose yourself and anyone else involved to cyber trolls. Cyber bullying involves making fun of a person, insulting and harassing them online. It could have emotional and mental ramifications. While people might say it’s easy to just log out, if you’re a social media addict, this could be hard and you could fall into the traps of the trolls by letting their words get to you and reacting.