Social media is something of a necessary evil, at least if you (like me) make a good part of your living on the internet. We all know about it, even if we don’t all use it; while some sites are state-sponsored crap (TikTok), and some are privately owned (Twitter/X), all of them have one thing in common: A horrible noise-to-signal ratio. That can be changed, of course; there is a lot we as individuals can do to make our own little corners of social media a little more sane.

 It should come as a surprise to no one that I have some ideas to help social media users make that noise-to-signal ratio a little better. Here, then, are some do’s and don’ts to make your social media experience – and everyone else’s – social media experience a little more pleasant.

Do:

• Present your source. If you’re referring to a news story or piece of commentary, link to the original source. Don’t make people dig back from Facebook through a blog post, through a tweet, or through something else to find the original article. If you can’t find a source, don’t post.
• Add some of your own thoughts. Don’t just present a piece of news; tell people what you think of it. And tell people why you think that.
• And as to that; don’t tell people how you feel.  Tell people what you think. If you don’t know the difference, well, you need more help than I can give you in a simple article.
• Point and laugh. Stupid people should be conspicuous; feel free to point out stupidity wherever you find it. And, sadly, there’s plenty of it to go around.
• Honesty matters. Tell the truth. Always. My grandmother used to say that "being honest is like being pregnant, you either are or you're not." She was right.
• Before pulling the trigger on a post, think for a few moments about counterarguments someone might make. Address them in advance, or at least, have a response ready in your quiver.
• Use emojis sparingly, if at all. Unless you don’t mind looking like a 12-year-old girl texting her friends.
• Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. It’s not about being a spelling or grammar Nazi; it’s about not looking like a moron.

Don’t:

• Make stuff up. Seriously, it’s bad that this even needs to be mentioned, but it happens all too often that people just make crap up out of whole cloth. People on all sides of the political landscape do it, and it makes all of them look like idiots. I could list a dozen examples, but that's a topic for another story.
• And as to that; if you’re suspicious of something you see, investigate it a little bit before posting it. If you can’t verify that X actually said Y, don’t post it. If you post something that’s easily disproven, again, it just makes you look like you don't know what you're talking about.
• Post a hundred memes a day. Occasionally, sure (I do), but if all you are posting is memes, you really need to re-think your online presence.
• Add “Like and re-post if you agree!” to every post. It’s annoying.
• Overlook stupidity in favor of The Side. People whom you would otherwise agree with, who are posting stupidity, should be called out, perhaps even more than people in opposition; they hurt, not help, your causes.
• Repost everything in your feed. It just clogs up the feed of anyone who is following you.
• Announce when you’re muting/blocking someone. It doesn’t help anything and looks petty. I make very sparing use of those functions and do not believe I have ever mentioned doing so, even back as far as Usenet.
• Belabor the obvious. Especially one-sentence posts stating something that everyone on the planet already knows. It’s just useless clutter.

Social media is the reality now. It’s here whether we like it or not, so if one is going to indulge, one may as well try to post commentary in a manner that will prompt people to take you seriously. The tips here will help.