Dos and Don'ts of Venting on Social Media

You’s a Bad Motha-Shut Yo Mouth!

It’s getting a lot harder to bitch about your job nowadays, isn’t it? From the awkward moment your bosses follow you on Twitter to the incredibly long internal debate you have on whether to accept their friend requests on Facebook – it always feels like somebody’s watching you. But that’s because they are.

I’m not trying to scare you, but this is not the age of privacy. From companies using Google Alerts to track any use of their name on the interweb to bosses and coworkers keeping tabs on their employees via social media, it’s a wonder we don’t all have therapists for the sole excuse of having a single outlet just to gripe about all the things we can’t talk about online.

It’s no game, this social-media business. People have lost their jobs over incendiary online posts.

But everyone has bad days! And everyone needs to let out minor annoyances before they reach Hulk-like proportions. Also, if you privatize your Twitter page, then how will that celebrity you follow EVER see your witty responses to his tweets?

1. With great power, comes great responsibility.

You’ve been on Twitter since 2007, you’ve amassed a very impressive amount of followers with little-to-no exploitation of them thus far – they like you, they really like you! Then one day – BAM – you’ve got the corporate job of your dreams and now you’re thinking twice about posting the sh*t your uncle says after he’s had a few too many sips of rye, as well you should.

Yeah, it kind of sucks that you can’t tell people what he thinks really happened to JFK, but you know what also really sucks? Unemployment. If you can’t make it PG-13, then best leave the shock-value to Twitter comedians (it’s a real thing).

2. Google Me, Baby

Many companies nowadays receive alerts whenever they’re mentioned on a public site. So, yes, you may not have @mentioned your snarky comment about your boss, but if you ever (ever!) named the company in your Twitter feed, I guarantee that they know your profile exists. Doubly if you mentioned the company name in said snarky tweet. Mind your words, keep it vague and you will go far.

3. Spill the Tea… via Private Message

Let’s be honest, you probably only communicate with a core group of four or five people on social media, and sometimes you just have to vent. If you absolutely must gripe about a job, do it with your faves through private message or DM. Your 401k will thank you later.

4. Put it in a Letter, Jane Austen!

Journaling isn’t just for teenage vampires. If your levels of job toxicity have reached a new high, write it down. With, like, a pen and paper. Remember those? You won’t get any Likes or RTs, but you will keep that job you hate so much, and that’s the most important thing.