In these past few days on Twitter I think we’re all realizing something that our parents have been saying for a long time when it comes to social media and it’s that we don’t know each other as well as we think we do across these platforms and it really starts to show. 1/

I think back to all the times when I would play xbox live or goof around on social media and my mom would say something like “you don’t know who these people are, Tyus” and at the time of course I thought she was being dramatic, but per usual she was right, I didn’t know them. 2/

What I perceived as an overreaction she saw a threat if I were to expose myself too much, she was protecting me. Social media is a great place to connect with people, share ideas, and network, but there is also the element of ambiguity that shrouds true intent making it 3/

difficult to discern between authenticity or ulterior motives. That being said unless you have met someone in person, met through skype, or can refer to someone else for confirmation you really don’t know who you are talking to and even with those there’s uncertainty still. 4/

Be mindful of who you share private info with, choose your friends wisely, protect your mental health and guard your circle, have fun and make connections if you can, and try to be kind to one another during these stressful times especially under this pandemic. 5/