Social Media Audit: When is enough, enough?

Have you ever performed a social media audit? What do people see when they search for your name? Social media has been around for a long time but only lately have we recognized the impact that it can have on somebody, both personally and professionally.

Prior to the pandemic I used social media to edit my pictures, keep in touch with friends that live near and far, and every once and a while share a funny meme or something I had a passion for on my page. Unfortunately now, I feel as though I use social media to mindlessly scroll through to escape the reality of the state of the world we live in.

Over the last two years my opinion overall of social media has drastically changed. As stated above it was more of a place where I would be able to only see the positive posts/comments and shares. This changed quickly and drastically when reports would come out about the Covid-19 virus and became even worse when lockdowns, mandates and vaccinations came into effect. I noticed on social media there became a lot of “experts” about the pandemic and those that I refer to as “keyboard warriors.” According to the Cambridge Dictionary(2022), a keyboard warrior is someone who posts angry messages or likes to get into arguments on the internet. It takes a lot of self control sometimes to scroll past these types of comments that were spewing misinformation to the public.

As a Registered Nurse who uses social media I have become more aware of anything that I comment on or post about. The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) created a document that provides nurses with guidelines on how to interact on social media. They give heed to nurses that the position you hold is within the public eye and to be very aware of what you are posting on your social media accounts for anybody to see. The RNAO reminds nurses to stick to what they know, remain respectful, be diligent and check your resources when you are posting online (RNAO, n.d.).

When I read comments that talked about the state of the hospital and how the media was hyping up the pandemic to be something it was not, I struggled to not comment back. I know that I have to remain professional at all times within my social media platform, but it does become very frustrating when misinformation is being shared so freely. When professionalism is not maintained by a Registered Nurse it can affect the status of their employment. There has been more than one nurse that has been terminated for their views and posts about the pandemic. I believe in freedom of speech however, I do feel as though as healthcare professionals we should hold ourselves to higher standards to help protect the public.

I hope that one day we can go back to a place on social media where every post doesn’t feel like it is pitting one side against another. A place where we can grow and make connections both personally and professionally. Until this state of social media returns I will continue to limit my screen time to aid in my own mental health, post only pictures of my adventures and continue to follow the beauty in nature and my friends near and far.

References

Cambridge Dictionary. (2022, January 26). keyboard warrior definition: 1. someone who posts angry messages or likes to get into arguments on the internet 2. someone who. . .. Learn more. Dictionary.Cambridge.Org. Retrieved February 1, 2022, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/keyboard-warriorSocial Media Guidelines for Nurses.

Social Media Guidelines for Nurses | Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2022, from https://rnao.ca/news/socialmediaguideline