Social media - how 'I Got There First Syndrome' is killing friendships and families
How many of you have first learnt of something very intimate or very personal via social media? Here's how to put a nip on 'I Got There First Syndrome'.
How many of you first learnt of a loved one’s passing from either Facebook, Twitter or Instagram?
You know those sentimental ‘Oh my word, I can’t believe Uncle So-and-so has passed on!’ always accompanied with a couple of snaps of probably your favourite uncle and more than likely before either of your family members told you of their passing?
This phenomenon is what is unofficially dubbed ‘I Got There First Syndrome’ - the fact that we have access to these fast, nifty tools of the web means we all are given the heavy burden of just having to break the news of something big right here and right now. What of other people that are directly impacted by your ‘breaking-news-via-social?’
Consider how so many friendships and relationships are now affected by this ‘first dibs’ practice when it comes to the announcement of births and the first pictures of children as soon as they are born.
Yes, we get it - you’re a proud auntie and or uncle, but before you take that snap of your best friend going into labour or before you post the first snap of sweet Baby Esmerelda onto Instagram, have you checked first with Baby Es’s mommy or daddy if they are 100% alright with you broadcasting their happy news? No? Have you checked their Facebook or Twitter timeline to see if they’ve posted any of this up yet? No? So - what are you doing then, auntie or uncle?
Alright let’s play fair and give you some tips from Mashable for you to avoid your ‘thunder stealing tendencies’, shall we?:
(1) Do not post anything on social if the parents have not post have not posted anything first (or without their permission
(2) If you are parents, plan ahead of time what to post
(3) Like, comment, but do not share the photos the family posts
(4) When in doubt, text your message of congrats instead
(5) If you come to visit the family, ask before posting
Let Martin know: what ways have people used social media to ‘steal your thunder?’ #MBDShow
Watch: remember this? How the Kardashian-Wests controlled how the first pictures of Baby Saint were released? Bet they had a long chat with Grandma Kris, right?