Have you thought about the pros and cons of tagging people on Facebook?

Part of me likes it when I’m brought into a post someone else created. Another part of me gets annoyed when this happens.

Tagging is when someone on Facebook identifies a friend in a picture. It also happens when someone enters the name of a Facebook friend in a post or comment. Doing either of these creates a hyperlink from the person posting to the personal page of the person being tagged. Depending on their settings, the tagged person gets a notification that someone tagged them.

Cons of Being Tagged (and How to Resolve Them)

  • Sometimes many people are tagged in the same post. When those people comment on the post, you start receiving notifications because you were tagged as well. These comments can be confusing and even annoying, especially if you have no idea who most of the others are.
  • Sometimes I don’t care to get all these comments from people I may not know. So, if I think a post I am tagged in will result in a lot of comments, I remove the tag. Here’s how:
    • If you’re tagged in a photo, go to the picture, click on options, and choose Remove Tag.
    • If you’re tagged by name, click on the three horizontal dots in the top right corner of the post and select Remove Tag.
  • No one is notified that you have done removed the tag. Once you remove it, you won’t be getting notified when people comment on the post.

 

Pros of Being Tagged (and How to Tag Others)

  • Many times, when I have been tagged, the person doing the tagging did it to honor or thank me for something. This kind of tagging is fine with me. However, I still recommend being judicious about tagging. There are many people who choose to keep their Facebook experience restricted. They don’t appreciate being referenced in a post via a tag.
  • To tag someone in a photo, click on the person’s face in the photo. A box will open under their face. Begin to type in their name and when their name and photo appear, it. Now they have been tagged in the photo.
  • To tag someone by name, type the @ symbol. Then type their first name right next to this symbol. If their name has not come up as a prompt/option, continue with their last name – again, no spaces.
  • Click on the box beside their name and photo when it comes up. Now you have tagged them in your post. (Their name will appear as though it has been highlighted in your post.)

 

Approve Tags via Your Privacy Settings

  • You have the option to decide in advance whether someone’s decision to tag you results in that post showing up on your personal page. You do this by enabling the setting that allows you to review tagged posts. This way you see each one first, allowing you to decide whether to allow it to appear on your page.
  • To do this, go to this link and select Enabled rather than the default, which is Disabled: https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=timeline&section=review&view.

 

How About You?

How do you feel about being tagged on Facebook? What positive experiences have you had with being tagged, and in what circumstances have you wished you hadn’t been tagged?

 

About Joyce

Joyce Feustel helps people, especially those age 50 and up, to become more comfortable using social media, especially Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter.

She works with business owners, business development professionals, leaders of nonprofit organizations, job seekers, retired people, consultants, and many others. Find her at www.boomerssocialmediatutor.com.