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WITH 93% OF HUMAN COMMUNICATION BEING NON-VERBAL WE ARE LOSING MOST OF OUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS WHEN TALKING ONLINE. SOPHIE MANNERS TEACHES US THE ONLINE ETIQUETTE WE NEED TO SURVIVE IN AN ONLINE WORLD. Your behaviour online matters. The words you use and the emojis you choose say a lot about who you are. For some, managing a flawless online persona is a walk in the park. For the vast majority, there are some unspoken rules to maneuvering the internet with their reputation intact. FRIENDSHIPS: Group chats with friends are difficult seas to navigate. Striking the balance between spamming the group with memes and remaining that creeper who has ‘seen’ it all can seem impossible; because it is. While they may seem like a great idea at pres, most group chats are either forgotten about in a few weeks time or drain your battery with notifications for the rest of your university life. As if that wasn’t enough, group chats are often named something ridiculous and too often these names also appear on your locked phone screen for all the world to see. There is however, a toggle under your notification settings on the app that allows you to adjust this. The number one rule of group chats is to mute them indefinitely. Crafting the perfect message takes time, especially if said text comes from an ex. In these cases, it can sometimes be advisable to delete the text and move on. Some virtual doors should remain closed for a reason. The strategic placement of an emoji or ‘lol’ can transform your message, after all you wouldn’t want to come across as too unclear or straightforward. Words come across harsher online and so additional punctuation is advisable to ensure that you don’t come across a bit of a… Instead, use exclamation marks to help convey excitement about menial, everyday tasks, such as taking the bins out with flatmates. Littering your communication with smileys online will make you seem approachable. CAREERS: If you’re passionate about not being unemployed after graduation, it’s probably a cool idea not to air your dirty laundry online and post questionable photographs of
yourself on a night out. Find the instagrammable moments in non-alcoholic events like volunteering and hopefully catch the eye of a prospective employer. Depending on your aspiring career, there is a significant possibility that your social media profiles may be screened once you apply for a job. If you’re worried about the photos your friends have tagged you in last Freshers, maybe modify your name online so that you remain a mystery. Google yourself and note what appears on your screen. Is that pesky Bebo account still public but inactive and have you made comments that you kinda, sort of regret (just a little bit) now? If that’s the case, you’re not alone, according to a Euro RSCG Worldwide study called ‘This Digital Life,’ nearly 40% of the 18 to 35 year olds surveyed regret sharing personal information about themselves. LOVE LIFE: Finding love in the online age comes with a completely new set of ground rules. Remember when your parents warned you against talking to or meeting up with strangers? And then came Tinder. Online dating has become so normal that the term ‘catfishing’ has been birthed. So for those of you who haven’t watched the programme on MTV let me fill you in. If you’re using someone else’s photographs to deceive a romantic relation online, Nev, Max and the power of reverse Google image search will catch you out. To avoid an appearance on the show but still score a date, feature a recent photograph of yourself in half decent lighting. Once you’ve met your match for a date, it’s important to stay offline and actually get to know the person across the table. Always tell your friends who you are meeting and where and discuss a codeword upfront, to ensure a quick getaway should the date not be going to plan. But if all goes well, and you and your mystery date hit it off, try to keep some of your relationship private. Some couples share every last detail with their 200 plus Facebook family, and worse still, there’s always the melodramatic individual who moans to the world about their S.O. - just don’t.