Person on Iphone with social media page open

Social Media Advice

Social Media Advice

When it comes to social media, remember that there is no such thing as an entirely private social media account – you will always leave a trace of your actions online.  

Here are some helpful tips that you can use to help protect yourself when using social media. 

Protect your wellbeing whilst online

 

Bullying that takes place online through a digital device. It can be horrible to experience this type of behaviour online but remember you DON’T have to put up with it. If you experience bullying or abuse, please report this immediately to the University so that emotional support and practical help can be provided. Contact studentwellbeing@bnu.ac.uk or 01494 602324.  

 

It is important to maintain a healthy balance between your online and offline lives so that you can take care of your mental health and wellbeing. Read a book, get some exercise, or take a walk outdoors. 

 

Be careful which personal information you post on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. Regularly review your security and privacy settings in these channels. 

 

Fake profiles (also called catfishing) are created by using someone’s personal information and photos, in order to pretend to be that person online. False profiles may be used to ‘befriend’ users to obtain their personal information.  

 

Do you know how much information you are sharing? It is probably more than you think. Does your social media account have personal information about you - your birthday; your phone number, where you live, family information, and all your security questions (mother's maiden name, and so on)? 

Take time to check the security settings on the different apps: 

  1. Check your Facebook Privacy Setting (Your Privacy | Facebook Help Centre

  1. Managing your privacy settings on Instagram (Managing Your Privacy Settings | Instagram Help Center

  1. How to make your Tik Tok account private and secure (Internet Safety: 20 Tips for TikTok Security (kaspersky.co.uk)

  1. Secure your YouTube account (Secure your YouTube account - YouTube Help (google.com)

  1. LinkedIn security (English (linkedin.com)

  1. Secure your WhatsApp account (How to secure your WhatsApp account

  1. Twitter Security (How to protect your tweets) 

 

  • Think about others’ feelings before posting comments and consider whether you may cause offence or embarrassment. 
  • Ask permission before sharing videos or photos of others. 

  • Do not use language or phrases that could be considered sexist, racist, homophobic, or any other type of offensive language. 

  • Be careful about the information you post online such as your address or whether you’re going away. 

  • Do not use social media apps to communicate with staff - although they would love to hear from you, the best way to keep in contact is via formal University channels such as University email, Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams or face-to-face meetings. Discuss with your lecturers and personal tutors how you can keep in touch. 

 

Social media enables us to create and publish posts that are potentially available to millions of others to see – this audience includes spam bots and cyber criminals. Think twice about any personal information you are sharing or the images you post, for example personal images of valuables or gifts may advertise to criminals and make you a target. 

Social media is not anonymous, as with everything on the internet, data can be traced back to the original creator. Therefore, you should be extremely careful in relation to anything posted by yourself on social media as you will be personally responsible. You also need to be aware of any communications you make, and how your social media presence might look to a future employer. 

It is your responsibility to ensure that your behaviour and language used on social media is appropriate and responsible. 

If in doubt, call it out – Report anything suspicious straight away.  Any concerns about information security or cyber security can be reported directly to the IT Service Desk by emailing: IT@bnu.ac.uk or calling 01494 605000

Additional contact details are available on the If in doubt, call it out page