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Social Media Etiquette: 20 Dos and Don'ts to Avoid Looking Like an Ass (+ 8 New Rules for 2026)
Senior Editor · 15+ years covering small business, freelancing, and online publishing.
Social media etiquette in 2026 comes down to one principle that hasn't changed since 2010: don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you. The platforms have multiplied, the behaviours have evolved, and AI has added a whole new category of ways to be a digital jackass — but the core rules remain the same. Don't spam. Be authentic. Think before you post.
Social Media Etiquette: 20 Dos and Don'ts to Avoid Looking Like an Ass
Whenever I hear the word "etiquette" visions of stuffy old charm schools play in my head. I don't believe you have to — or even should — be nice to everyone all the time just because you want everyone to like you. It's okay to dislike people, disagree with people, and share honest opinions as long as you can back them up. I'm also not a big believer in wearing a peachy little persona all the time just because other people tell you that you should.
I'm going to throw a buzzword at you, but one I think really matters — authenticity. I'd rather someone truly be themselves when I meet them in the social media space as opposed to watching them putting on a show.
That said, I'm a surprisingly big fan of general social media etiquette. I think it's often less about manners and more about basic common sense. There are plenty of things that you wouldn't want people doing to you while you're on social networks, blogs, or using other social media tools. So don't do those things to others.
If you want to avoid coming across as a complete jackass, getting yourself banned, or just being blacklisted by your network, here are the rules — the original 20 from 2010 (still fully applicable) plus 8 new ones for 2026.
1. DON'T spam. Ever. Self-explanatory, no?
2. DON'T keep everything private. Online privacy is important. It's very important. But if you're keeping every social interaction private, why are you even taking part in social media? Stick to emails and instant messengers and text messaging if that's your goal, and stop making everyone else feel like your "club" is too exclusive.
3. DON'T create multiple handles to "gang up." If other people aren't supporting your viewpoint, that should tell you something. It's never okay to comment using multiple fake identities to try to support your own point. Not only is that idiotic, but you will get caught and exposed.
4. DON'T try to incite a mob mentality. In addition to not setting up multiple identities of your own, avoid trying to incite a social media mob. If you blatantly go around telling everyone to comment on something with the same opinion, you're guilty of manipulating the conversation. Share a link? Yes. Tell people what to say or encourage them to gang up? No.
5. DO think before "speaking." Yes, social media involves the ability to publish your thoughts instantly. But just because something pops into your head, it doesn't mean it should be shared with the world. Think first. The internet has a very long memory and a screenshot is forever.
6. DO personalise messages and introductions. When you first connect with someone new and they don't already know you, go ahead and say hello. Let them know how you came across them. It's a little less creepy and you might just make a great impression.
7. DO think (and network) outside your circle. If your social networks only involve people who agree with you, you're living in a box. It's silly at best and dangerously limiting at worst.
8. DON'T post questionable photos of others without their permission. Regardless of whether or not you legally need a model release, don't post anything questionable or compromising of someone else unless you check with them first. And if you don't — karma's a bitch. You have no idea what they have on you.
9. DON'T send automated messages to new followers. When someone follows you, don't use automated tools to immediately bombard them with messages no matter how sweet you think you're being in your not-so-personal "hello." It's not just you annoying them — others are doing it too. The combined effect is exhausting.
10. DO use your real name whenever possible. At a bare minimum, use a recognisable name. When you interact anonymously, very little holds you accountable for what you say or do. That anonymity leads people to say things they would never say face-to-face. Own your words.
11. DON'T steal content without giving credit. If you share something, quote something, or use someone else's idea, give them credit. Period. This is not complicated. It is also increasingly easy to get caught — reverse image search and content attribution tools are everywhere.
12. DO respond to people who talk to you. Not everyone who mentions you or leaves a comment deserves a response, but when someone takes the time to engage with your content meaningfully, acknowledge it. Social media is a two-way medium. Monologues belong elsewhere.
13. DON'T air your dirty laundry. There's a massive difference between being authentic and treating your social networks like a personal therapy session. Being real is great. Broadcasting every argument, grievance, and personal crisis to your entire audience is not great. Keep some things private.
14. DO disclose relationships and conflicts of interest. If you're being paid to promote something, if the product was given to you for free, if you have a financial relationship with a brand — say so. Your audience deserves to know. Beyond being ethically correct, the FTC requires it in the US and equivalent regulators are watching in most countries.
15. DON'T be a link-dropping leech. Showing up in someone's comments section or replies exclusively to drop your own links is transparent and annoying. Contribute to the conversation first. The link can follow if it's genuinely relevant.
16. DON'T sub-post or vaguebook about specific people. Posting cryptic passive-aggressive status updates clearly directed at a specific person without naming them is cowardly. If you have an issue with someone, address it directly or don't address it publicly at all. "Some people just don't know how to be real friends 🙄" is not the content anyone signed up for.
17. DO give credit for ideas, not just images. Reposting without credit is rude. But stealing someone's idea, framing, or thesis and presenting it as your own — without even copying the original — is worse because it's harder to call out. Credit people for their thinking, not just their images and quotes.
18. DON'T overshare location in real time. Posting that you're currently on holiday with the whole family, or that you're at an event and your house is empty, is a gift to burglars. Think about what real-time location data reveals about your routines and vulnerabilities before posting it.
19. DO take breaks from outrage. Not every injustice requires your immediate public reaction. Not every controversy needs your hot take within the first hour. The social media outrage cycle moves fast and the person being pilloried on Monday is often vindicated by Friday. Staying quiet is a valid choice and often the smarter one.
20. DON'T use social media as a one-way broadcast channel. If your entire social media presence consists of pushing your own content, promoting your own work, and never genuinely engaging with anyone else's — you're not doing social media, you're doing advertising. And you're probably boring.
21. DO disclose when content is AI-generated. If you used AI to write a post, generate an image, or create a video — say so. Not because you're legally required to in most places (though regulation is catching up), but because your audience deserves to know. Passing AI output off as your own original thought or creative work is a new form of the old dishonesty. The people who will get burned by this as AI detection improves are the ones who never disclosed in the first place.
22. DON'T use AI-generated images of real people without clear satire labelling. AI makes it trivially easy to generate realistic images of real people doing things they never did. Using these images — even as a joke — without clear and prominent labelling as AI-generated satire is dishonest at best and defamatory at worst. The technology is new. The ethics are not complicated.
23. DON'T participate in LinkedIn cringe culture. You know what this looks like: the post that starts "I almost didn't share this..." followed by a vulnerability performance designed to harvest engagement. The fake humility. The "I'm just a simple CEO who learned everything from my cleaner" story. LinkedIn has become genuinely useful for professional networking — don't pollute it with manufactured emotion and calculated authenticity theatre.
24. DO respect the platform's context. A TikTok duet is not the same as a quote tweet. A LinkedIn comment is not the same as an Instagram comment. A Threads reply is not the same as an email. Each platform has its own culture, norms, and audience expectations. Importing the aggressive debate-club energy of X/Twitter into a LinkedIn professional discussion, or the corporate polish of LinkedIn into a casual TikTok comment section, makes you look like you don't understand the room.
25. DON'T screengrab and repost private conversations. Taking a screenshot of a private message, DM, or group chat and posting it publicly — even when you feel entirely justified — is a betrayal of a reasonable expectation of privacy. People communicate differently in private. If someone said something genuinely harmful or illegal, there are better channels than social media for addressing it.
26. DO think about your digital footprint before pile-ons. Before you add your voice to a social media pile-on, ask: do I actually have first-hand knowledge of what happened? Have I read more than a headline or a 30-second clip? Is my contribution adding anything or just adding noise? Mass social media harassment has ended careers, caused mental health crises, and occasionally targeted entirely the wrong person. Your retweet is not consequence-free.
27. DON'T treat X/Twitter threads as facts. A viral thread written by a random account with a convincing tone is not a news article, a peer-reviewed study, or a verified account of events. Sharing misinformation because it was well-written and confirmed what you already believed is something we are all guilty of. The correction never gets the same reach as the original false claim. Verify before you amplify.
28. DO set and respect boundaries around chronic negativity. Mute, unfollow, and block liberally — and don't take it personally when others do the same to you. Algorithmic social media is already optimised to show you content that makes you angry and anxious. You don't have to cooperate. Curating your feed toward content that genuinely enriches your life is not avoidance or fragility — it's basic digital hygiene.