Cyber Ethics for Facebook Pages

High School Reunion Pages

By Sigue Girando Planeta

Facebook one of the most popular networks used by people, offers the ability to unite them from any place of the planet they are able to make the connection from. 

Nothing new about High School Reunions, what is new is the fact that using this network in particular, people are able to share, information, videos, photos and all kind of comments, in some instances inappropriate.

But... when sharing becomes to much?

ETHICS you may consider to follow when you are a member of a High School Reunion Page on Facebook:

1. Get familiar with the members you lost contact with for a long period of time. Communicate with respect at all times. Or assume the consequences of your comments.
2. Do not assume that a funny story you know about some of your former classmates, are okay for you to share, without consulting with person involved.
3. Do not make remarks about how other people look. If this is a 30th anniversary, it is natural that some people gained weight, have gray hair, or not hair at all. They most look a little bit different than what they used to be during those years in high school. Duh!
4. If you think it was okay to bully your classmates back then, don’t even think for a moment it’s okay to continued doing so.
5. Never mention who was the boyfriend or girlfriend of other classmates, that should be their story to tell, not yours.
6. Behave like the responsible and mature adult you should be, the reunion is to remember when your were young, no to behave like one.
7. After many years, each classmate have their own life stories, let them tell the group. You tell yours.
8. Welcome spouses and partners to the group. Chances are that people have made families. 
9. Respect your former classmates the way they are. The same way you want to be respected.
10. Keep the information about the plans of the group on open view, so the members know exactly what is the plan.
11. Do not assume you are better than others just because of your life achievements, each member have achievements of their own.
12. Embrace friendship, stop making side groups with the purpose of leaving other outside, you are a grown up now. Do I really have to remind you of that?
13. During meetings for organization of activities, allow each member to participate equally. Don’t keep the mic on your hands, pass it out.
14. Don’t bring down others ideas just because you don’t like them. The group should work to make the reunion happen with the help of each one.
15. Appreciate the effort, no matter how big or how small each member offers. It’s a big family with the same period of life time experiences, the high school years. Respect and appreciate the hard work of those that will make it happen for you.
16. Embrace past, present and future.
17. Stop assuming you are better than... after all, if you were better than anybody else, why didn’t you attend a different high school.
18. Welcome those that are far away, that left not just the school, like you did, but even left their town, and their country and are more than happy to be back and enjoy beautiful memories of their young years.
19. If some of the key members, in charge of fundraising and other activities are feeling like there is so much work to be done, feeling tired, feeling like they are doing it on their own, in order to make the reunion happen, it is possible you are not allowing others to participate, and are making them feel not welcome. So stop complaining. 
20. Embrace love, hope, faith and life... maybe this is the last High School Reunion that some of your friends may attend.

Note: This list could be longer.

Bori Planet

Dedicated to my Class of 1985

Ponce High School

Ponce, Puerto Rico

One more photo of my plate! Psycho!!!

Photos of your Favorite Food for Others to See: 

Yeah, we have done it due to the fact that everybody else is doing it on the social net, so I will do it to.

I have done it myself, a few times, then it was not amusing for me any more, after I notice the photos of others, the constancy, and how much information I was getting about them with their own food pics, some nice photos, and others so gross, so I quit it.

But... why do people really post photos of food, specially their own plates, at restaurants, of what they cook or what simply they are about to eat?

10 Reasons Why We post Photos of Food:

1. I eat healthy: Some like to show how healthy they eat. You will find photos of food recommended by “The Health Department”. But when you take a look at some of them, you end up questioning their diet, because it looks like is not working at all.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. I can afford it: Vanity to show how much money their food cost. “I have money so I go to very expensive restaurants and I order a ‘gourmet piece of lettuce’ with three drops of exotic dressing and I just paid $350.00 (us) for my dinner. I’m better than you!” Their plate photo will show... the three drops of the exotic dressing.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. I can cook: To show off they are great cooks. But not all of their photos are as good as they think they are as cooks.                      Kinki Stuff
   
   
   
4. Promoting their favorite food: Others will simply promote what they love to eat. But... would you like to eat my boiled hard salted eggs inside my bowl of frosted flakes with milk? Their photos will show stuff that you not necessarily like. 
   
   
   
5. Promoting a good restaurant: They will simply try to convinced you that it worth to go to that restaurant. But, do you like what they like? The catch of the day an iguana soup.
   
   
   
6. I wish I could eat it: These are the photos of “forbidden” food for some people because it will hurt them more in their weight problem. It’s their struggle and sometimes their secret eating disorder. 
   
   
   
   
   
7. Look what my husband cooked for me today: This one is done by wives, duh! It’s their way to let the planet know their husbands are a rare kind, because, they are not supposed to cook? They have the best husbands in the world? Or it’s the only good thing their husbands do for them? Or maybe, is to show that at home your husband does exactly how you tell him.
   
   
   
8. Gluttony: These are the people that are posting constantly about food, talk about food and their lives is about eating. Food is the center of their lives. Thinking about the idea of not having enough food will drive them nuts and bananas. They will really go coconuts on this!
   
   
   
   
   
9. My wife cooked: These will post what their wives cooked for them, not to show how talented and caring their wives are, but to let the W.W.W. (whole wide world) know they are very Macho because they eat better than you, the other macho they are posting for.
   
   
   
10. I’m what I eat: These are the photos of the people that they know how bad the food could be for their health in terms of calories, cholesterol, saturated fats, etc. but they will go ahead  and eat it because they simply don’t care, about their health, about their looks and definitively about your opinion.

Food is the way we unite as humans, it’s part of our cultural geography, is part of our daily life, all humans have to eat. Some will eat more than others, others will eat less and unfortunately others will have nothing to eat at all.

Whatever your case is, be aware that the photo of food that you are posting today on your favorite social network, is saying a thousand words about who you are.

Be happy, be healthy, be safe, be free... be you!

Bori Planeta