6 ways social media has got me into trouble

This post is part of a lighter series aimed at getting us to put down our tech, where we look at how our digital devices often get us in trouble. 

Both in my day-to-day role as a community manager, and in my out of office time, I spend a lot of time on social media – although I try to reduce it by sticking to the 5:2 digital diet. During these many hours on social media, I’ve got into various bits of trouble. Here are a few ways social media has got me into trouble, I’m sure you’ve all experienced some of these too.

#1 The boss saw snaps of my cheeky night out

So I’ve been on a cheeky, mid-week night out. No-one in the office will know, will they? Gave myself a good shower to get rid of the alcohol sweats and drank a pint of water before bed and they’ll be none the wiser.

Wrong. Because while I was on that cheeky night out, my boss – who I have on Snapchat. Don’t ask why, let’s gloss over it – saw a very drunken snap of me spinning in some bar. Rookie error. Now she knows.

#2 Mum saw my potty-mouthed tweets

Twitter is great for many things – but one of the best uses for the notorious social media platform is going on a Twitter rant. That’s right, whenever something annoys us – we tend to take to Twitter to vent.

The only thing is, my mum follows me on Twitter. And she didn’t appreciate the, shall we say, particular adjectives that I used in my Tweets.

#3 Liked a picture in a very deep scroll

We’ve all been there. I can’t be the only one who routinely stalks people on Instagram or Facebook? Before too long, we’re about 84 weeks deep on their Instagram feed looking at pictures of their cat. And then it happens. A simple slip of the finger and I’ve liked the picture. Which means they’ve got a notification, indicating that I am a maximum level creeper. How embarrassing.

#4 Accidentally tweeted a DM

Twitter is a great platform. It knows no bounds, no limits of time and distance. It allows us to connect instantly with people all across the globe.

So what do we do with that platform? That’s right, we talk to people from other cities, countries and continents. But often, these conversations should remain private, as they can be quite personal – so Twitter implemented Direct Messaging, so help facilitate that.

I’ve often come a cropper with Twitter DMs, pulling a complete Idris Elba and tweeting something that was definitely not meant for public consumption. Mortifying.

#5 Potential boss saw some inappropriate photos

We live in the digital age, and it’s becoming more and more commonplace for employers to look up potential employees on social media. And what they find can often be horrifying.

I have a friend whose boss looked him up on Facebook, only to find some less than ideal photos of my friend topless at Uni. He got the job, but his boss reminds him about it pretty much every week. Embarrassing times.

#6 Posted something when I’m supposed to be sleeping

We’ve all done it. Your friend is non-stop texting you about a crisis that (let’s face it) really isn’t a big deal. After about 10 texts back and forth enough is enough. What do you do? You lie. I’ve done this a few times, I’m bored of where this is going and the only way to get out of it is to pretend it’s bed time. Good idea, I know. Apart from that one time I then went on a twitter rant an hour later and he liked one of my tweets. Soz.