Facebook urges young users to ‘think before you share’

Social media firm launches new initiative to encourage ‘thoughtful’ online behaviour

Rachel O’Neill and Alex Deane at the launch of the ‘Think Before You Share’ online safety guide for young people  by Facebook  and SpunOut.ie. Photograph: Andres Poveda
Rachel O’Neill and Alex Deane at the launch of the ‘Think Before You Share’ online safety guide for young people by Facebook and SpunOut.ie. Photograph: Andres Poveda

A new social media initiative aimed at encouraging young people to "think before they share" has been launched by Facebook and SpunOut.ie.

The online safety guide, which aims to provide tips on sharing content responsibly, highlights to users the importance of “being thoughtful” about social media activity “to avoid upsetting themselves and others”.

Advice in the guide focuses on three general themes: “your own stuff”, “other people’s stuff” and “fixing things if they go wrong”.

Privacy

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It advises individuals that passwords should always be kept confidential, and that users can control who sees their posts by managing their privacy settings and using the audience selector tool.

It also encourages people to be “considerate about other people’s privacy” and to be conscious that content such as private photos “can outlast a relationship or can be passed on beyond the intended audience”.

The guide can be found here.

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter