by Bethaney Wallace

In honor of Halloween, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on the spooky, the quirky, and possibly even the mad: people’s social media accounts. Whether revealing or off the wall, a person’s social media accounts are a reflection of their personality, and more importantly, their ability to filter their thoughts. However, even Halloween, a day of complete identity relief can’t make up for a certain category of social media sharing, where users post their thoughts and feelings every day, all day.

Anyone who has ever gotten bombarded with Facebook notifications knows the type of people I’m referring to. Their statuses tell just what they’re doing and when they’re going to do it – as if they are providing their stalker with a Staples easy button. They send you constant invites to play any-type-of-noun-ville and upload pictures on a hourly basis. And for these over-sharers, one social media site simply isn’t enough; Twitter, MySpace, YouTube all get constant attention as well. It is for this same reason I have de-friended many on my own accounts; it’s not that I don’t want to be their “friend” it’s that the constant updates are more than I can check, hiding any truly important updates. (I’ll use the word “important” here loosely since we’re talking about Facebook statuses.)

However, with the popularity of celebrity Twitter accounts, the terrifying ability to share has grown to a larger level. It’s no longer high school girls posting angry tweets about their lives, it’s adults. Many a celebrity has been found posting heated information, then receiving a whirlwind of backlash once their thoughts were spread via the internet. In recent months, Roger Ebert, Chris Rock, and Katy Perry have all posted controversial tweets, which were later either recanted or at the very least, clarified.

So what can be learned from all of these haste-induced tweets? Should celebrities be more careful about what they post to the internet? Absolutely. After all, what can be recanted can never be erased. But, the public should also realize their posts are just as permanent. When it comes to social media, nothing offers a quicker, easier way to spread information, but with this ability also comes the ability to overshare and spread false words.

Do you have a social media account who cried “Wolf”?

There are websites and social media profiles dedicated entirely to providing sarcastic and false information. (A few of my favorites are The Onion and @FakeAPStylebook.) But for the rest of us, especially celebrities, we don’t have the luxury of sharing without consequence. Are you constantly posting about being angry? Your online friends will soon question your authenticity. Even overly happy posts won’t be taken seriously after time. One too many this-is-the-best-day-ever tweets and followers will roll their eyes and question the tweeter’s motives.

So the next time you login, remember that with internet access comes power. The power to say what’s exactly on your mind, or the power to act like an adult. Sharing every single rant may make you feel better in the moments just after you were served an overcooked burger or snubbed by a department store employee, but constant sharing, or schedule posting will only alienate your followers. Put your metaphorical social media filter on “high” and don’t post anything you won’t want permanently posted to your social media history.

Photo courtesy of Flickr.