Facebook Ranting Can Cause Trouble

Facebook+Ranting+Can+Cause+Trouble

My own personal frustration usually isn’t posted on social media sites, but something made me so angry recently that I couldn’t help myself.

So, I Facebook ranted.

It’s probably one of the biggest cliché’s of our time. We constantly post every little thing that we do and think on Facebook and Twitter, without realizing the effect it might have on ourselves later. Usually, I don’t like debating or letting out my anger issues, but I did, and completely regret it.

Everyone has been given the same speech over and over again: everyone can see what you post on the internet. Like any other social media site, Facebook has privacy settings, but that doesn’t mean it’s private. Any one of your followers or “friends” on those social media websites can share whatever you post, and it can be shared with the rest of the world. All it takes is a click of a button.

Okay, this probably sounds like a lecture from your mother. I’m sure all of us have received a lecture or two from a parent or adult about the evils of social media. Overtime, the evils of social media have changed and slightly grown. The more social media we use and rely on, the more it becomes part of our social norm.

Employers around the world are even looking more closely at what people are posting on their social media pages. A Facebook status ranting about the awful day you had at school could cost you your dream job. Tweeting about your boss and how much of a loser he is can get you fired. We all know that the picture you took at your friend’s birthday party with the red solo cup in your hand can jeopardize a chance at a job, but now your Facebook statuses and tweets can do just the same.

In June, a Californian Chili’s waitress was fired from posting an angry rant on her Facebook page. The status read: “Next time you tip me $5 on a $138 bill, don’t even bother coming in cause I’ll spit in your food and then in your face you cheap bastards!” (Here’s a tip: ALWAYS tip your waiters properly! That’s often their main source of income and you look like a complete jerk if you don’t). The waitresses’ comment was shared and was found on Reddit, which was reported on Chili’s Facebook page.

Although those who read it found it quite amusing, a lot of other people found that her Facebook rant was disgusting. The waitress was fired due to “social media guideline violations”. After being fired from her job, she immediately deleted her Facebook account. Her ranting on Facebook about a horrible day at work cost the waitress her job.

There are people out there that are easily offended, and can report your status or tweet if they feel it’s inappropriate. Anything you post can go viral in just a few seconds. If you’re bashing your boss every time you come home from work, you can get in a lot of trouble, and it can ultimately ruin your life.

After posting my rant on Facebook, I immediately deleted the status. Not only did I feel a slight twinge of guilt after posting it, but I knew there was a good chance that I could get in trouble because of it. People may say that you have the right to post whatever you want on social media websites due to “freedom of speech”, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences behind actions.

Let’s just all agree from now on that we should keep our statuses and tweets to sharing cute pictures of our pets and funny videos from YouTube (unless you want to get fired from your job).

So, some final words of wisdom: if you feel the urge to Facebook rant, DON’T.