Do you ever read a Tweet or Facebook status that makes you facepalm?
How about seeing a social share of a rumor or a hoax going viral?
Does ‘vaguebooking’ get your panties in a twist?
If you use social media, you probably have some social media pet peeves but the funniest part is that what bothers you might not bother me, and vice versa.
So one person might think it’s totally cool to post something that will annoy the stuffing out of me. That is the beauty (and curse) of social media. Not everyone is going to like what another person posts and this is why we also see clashing personalities and arguments happening in social media.
Here are some common social media pet peeves:
“Vaguebooking”- This term was coined on Facebook but can be used on any social network. It basically describes when someone makes a vague post, often meant to garner attention and sympathy but then they do not follow through with an explanation.
Some examples include “That sucks!” with no follow up or calling certain unnamed individuals out such as “I know you hate me but why did you do that?” and when other friends ask who and what it’s all about, the vaguebooker doesn’t give an answer.
Too much promotion/ no engagement- Now another complaint is the user who does too much promotion but never engages. You might be surprised to know that this is not just in reference to businesses on social media. I’ve seen tons of individuals do it, too.
Bloggers who want you to read their latest post, someone selling Scentsy or those ridiculous wrap-you-skinny products! They post, post, post all of their stuff they want you to see/buy/like but they never bother to communicate or engage in any other way.
“Experts” claiming their way is the only way- In social media, there is an expert for everything. And they all think their way is the only way. Often when you try to engage with these users, they just try to prove you wrong, rather than actually listening to what you have to say. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, as the [horrible] saying goes.
Being Asked to “Share” or RT silly posts- “Share this if you love your grandma. Ignore it if you hate your grandma.” <- Really Facebook user, really? You know what I’m talking about. Are these posts annoying you yet?
Spam and/or Phishing- I’d dare to say this is more than a pet peeve and is actually dangerous, especially as far as the phishing is considered. But perhaps the ‘pet peeve’ part applies when you know it’s a scheme so you ignore it but you have to be bothered with it in the first place.
Being Tagged in Posts or Photos that You’re Not In- Some people don’t mind this but for those who do, they really hate it! Facebook rules (and most other sites that allow photo-tagging) say you must only tag a person if they are IN the photo. Exceptions might include if you are tagging a family member of the person because the subject of the photo is not on social media. If you’re unsure if a person likes being tagged, just skip it to avoid issues.
Digital media thieves- If you take something that doesn’t belong to you and share it on social media without attributing it to the owner, this is stealing. Far too many people don’t understand that just because you find it on Google Image Search doesn’t mean you have the right to use it.
Auto-Posting without Any Follow-up – Far too many people forget the ‘social’ in social media. Automating your account and never coming back to it is annoying to the readers/followers. Why would anyone want to stick around when you don’t even care to? I can see why this one is a pet peeve.
Auto-DMs on Twitter- This one bothers me much less since I decided to just never check my DMs. Seriously, I can’t keep up with all the spam that comes in there. But I know many people who religiously unfollow anyone who sends an auto DM on Twitter so if you’re guilty of this one… it might be time to stop that.
I bet you can think of many more pet peeves to add to the list. Am I right?
As for me, I am pretty easy-going. I don’t mind people tagging me and I don’t mind people posting to my Facebook wall or sharing with me on Google+. I don’t mind multiple tweets a day or you Intagramming what you had for lunch.
Here are some of my social media pet peeves:
- People commenting/sharing stories and not reading past the first line.
- People spreading hoaxes because they don’t take an extra minute to verify it first.
- People who post a lot of meaningless content just to artificially inflate your Empire Avenue, Klout, or Kred score.
What are some of your social media pet peeves?
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