Social Media Do’s and Don’ts For College Freshmen

Going to college is a minefield, and social media makes it that little bit harder, so here are my do's and don'ts for social media in college.

As I’ve said before, college is a really scary place to go to. Everything is new, but one thing is for sure: you want to make it look like you are having the best time ever to all of your friends at home. But while there are no solid rules for social media, there are definitely guidelines for how to make everyone at home (and college) think you’re pretty damn cool. With that being said, here are my social media do’s and don’ts for college freshmen.

1. Don’t post too much

If you’re always on your phone then it doesn’t exactly look like you’re having the time of your life at college. And you don’t want the people you’re trying to become friends with think that you’re stuck up and wishing you were somewhere else. Go on the basis that less is more: if you post one amazing post every once in a while then people are far more likely to fall for your laid-back personality as opposed to someone who needs to be posting their whole life, always.

2. But don’t never post

If your last post was from the end of junior school in 2012 then you probably need to think about whether or not you even want social media at all. You don’t want people to think you’re lazy and don’t put effort into things, because of course, you put effort into some/most things!

3. Don’t change your whole identity

You can’t lie forever. Don’t lie about your life and how cool or not you were and your life experiences. You can present yourself in another way if you want, but don’t make yourself someone that you’re not: people will see through it eventually and that will only lead to potential drama and issues.

4. Spread the love

If you think someone looks great in a photo, tell them! No harm will come from giving someone a little confidence boost that will make their day and also make them feel like you’re a nice, approachable person. But again, don’t lie as the truth will probably eventually come out which really really won’t look good.

5. Don’t facetune everything to oblivion

This is just about showing off your love for yourself. Whether or not you believe it, fake it till you make it! If you look like a cartoon in your photos because you had to edit it so much until you were happy with it, maybe it isn’t the one. Give yourself some credit, you really are your own kind of beautiful and all you need to do it own it!

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6. Get your caption game strong

Whether it’s all to do with the consistency of captions, the humour or describing what you did, I wouldn’t use a quote from an emo song from the early 2000s. You’re not 12 anymore, but people definitely will question that you might be if you haven’t moved out of that stage yet.

7. Be yourself

I’ve said it all through this article, but you can’t lie or fake who you are. If it’s not true to you then the cracks will one day start to show and you won’t be happy if you’re faking everything. Be yourself and you will attract people who like the true, authentic you, and then you’ll be happy and secure as you can be (hopefully!)

So there are my social media do’s and don’ts for college freshmen! Have you been to college or know someone who has? Do you agree with this list or have something to add? Let us know down below!