‘Beware the power of the screen grab’ warns expert
Once you've put in on social media, it's there forever.
“IF you wouldn’t want it on a billboard with your name, photograph and address next to it, don’t put it on social media!” That’s according to social media law consultant, Emma Sadleir who was speaking at the Durban Country Club on the latest changes on social media and how to safeguard yourself from falling victim to online bullying and the possibility of getting fired.
“So many people get angry about something and what do they do? They type it out and put it on Facebook or they tweet. You have to be hyper careful of what you post on social media. People get overwhelmed or drunk and they post on Twitter. Once it’s out there, it’s out there for the world to see,” she said.
Sadleir said the ‘screen-grab’ has changed the way social media works. Even if you post something and delete it after a few seconds, it can still be used against you if it was screen-grabbed. She explained that a conversation between two people is no longer seen as private if one of the two screen-grabs the chat and sends it to other people.
Referring to a recent case, where Judge Mabel Jansen came under fire for making racist comments to a friend during a private conversation, Sadlier said screen-grabs were then shared and the judge was publicly shamed for her comments made during what she thought was a private conversation.
She went on to explain that social media users should take the necessary precautions to safeguard themselves and their children from what is posted online.
“You’re allowed to say no to images of you posted online. Edit your settings so that you’re notified first of images or updates that you’re tagged in. You have the option to hide those images or to ask the poster to delete the photograph,” she said.
