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Social mindfulness can guide responsible online sharing

To post or not to post? That is the question, especially when potential social media content involves other people. New research from the University of Minnesota explores the role social mindfulness—being thoughtful of others and anticipating their perspectives—plays in deciding to share content on social media.

Posting on social media about other people can strengthen connections and enhance reputations. However, it can also lead to privacy violations, personal conflicts or even legal repercussions. Kathleen Vohs, a professor in the Carlson School of Management, and Linnéa Chapman of Florida International University, tested how social mindfulness can be used to navigate these considerations.

The research, recently in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, consisted of two studies. The first asked participants whether their most recent Facebook post tagged or referenced someone other than themselves. The second study asked participants to rate the likelihood they would share a photo on social media based on various scenarios.

Each scenario involved a potential reason why the other person might not want the photo posted online, such as an unflattering angle, privacy preferences or the use of alcohol.

"In the course of conducting this research, we came across countless examples of sharing decisions that were inappropriate or even harmful to others," said Vohs. "Based on our study, we believe that social mindfulness might help people avoid those types of outcomes."

The researchers found:

• Nearly half of all surveyed social media posts contained information about others.
• Individuals who exhibited social mindfulness were significantly less likely to post content that others may object to sharing.
• Practicing social mindfulness helped people make responsible sharing decisions on social media by weighing potential outcomes for those involved.

"It can be tough making decisions on what to share about others, since there are no hard and fast rules," said Vohs. "For instance, there is no social norm dictating that you should never post photos of your family.

"We identified social mindfulness as a way for people to figure out whether or not to post about others. All it requires is a willingness to pay attention to what you would be sharing, consider whether the people involved would want you to share it, and base your decisions on their preferences."

Vohs said that further examples of social mindfulness include identifying content that could be hurtful, such as photos from a wedding to which some friends weren't invited, photos of children who are too young to consent, and information that could reveal people's whereabouts while traveling or emotional states.