1.2.13 – Activity: Social Media Friends

In this activity, you will have the chance to think about the connections you have online.

Using the worksheet below, list the name of a social media sites or games – like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Steam, etc. – where you have a membership. Then, write down how many “friends” or “followers” you have. Count all of your online connections.

Now, go through each of your lists of connections and count how many of these people you actually know in the real, offline world. These are likely to be friends and family members.

Finally, review your list of Online Connections and count how many names are strangers – people you don’t know in the offline world. They may be your online friends, but what do you really know about them? You are going to be counting the number of people with whom you have questionable connections.

Here’s something to think about: If you have 200 Facebook friends and each of those friends has 200 friends, one single post could be seen by 40,000 people. Once its posted online it’s impossible to get it back.

Do you have more Questionable Connections than Offline Friends? On most social media sites, you can block and/or delete people from your account. Is it time to clean up your friends lists?