Social Media: Play it Safe

There are many politicians and celebrities that have been burned by social media mishaps. Most recently, Representative Anthony Weiner of New York unintentionally posted a private picture to his Twitter feed, making him the latest public person to suffer the consequences of these types of mistakes.

Unfortunately, in the digital age it's easy to make such mistakes. Luckily, most of us aren't in the public eye. But when we date, our Facebook status reports, Twitter feeds, and FourSquare locations are easily accessible for potential suitors. This makes us vulnerable to the same judgments public figures receive, no matter how few people we think our viewing our random musings. When you date, you are easily found through a Google search, so it's best to be prepared.

Following are some tips to keep you safely engaged with social media:

Filter your pictures. Obviously as we've learned from politicians and celebrities, it's never a good idea for personal pictures of yourself to be anywhere online. Same thing with any drunk or lewd photos. It's too easy for it to get into the wrong hands, or to accidentally post to your Twitter feed (ahem) instead of a DM. Don't put yourself in the position of having to defend yourself to someone you're meeting for the first time.

Recognize that your words live forever. Those comments you left on your ex's site or the status reports where you admitted to being a lush may come back to haunt you. While these words might have only been typed in the heat of the moment, they tend to hang around for new friends to see. Be careful in how much you share.

Don't friend your dates so quickly. I know that it's tempting to friend someone after a fabulous date, but use restraint. You never know how things will work out, and do you really want a virtual stranger digging through your Facebook page? Wait until you've dated a while and have had a chance to get to know each other. Don't use your dates as a way to get your friend count up, either.

Use privacy settings. If you want to restrict who reads your tweets or Facebook page, there are privacy settings you can use effectively. Please check into these if you would rather post more freely.

Don't mistake public for private messages. It's really easy when you're in a hurry to tweet something that you meant to send over DM instead, or to post to someone's wall instead of emailing her directly. Because of this, it's best to take an extra few seconds to double-check before you hit "send"...every time.