Ever wonder why you get notifications in your globe icon on Facebook from people you don’t even know? Chances are they are the result of having a Facebook friend “tag” you in a post they recently put up on Facebook.

Catcher Tagging Runner at Home Plate

Tagging happens in photos – it’s when someone on Facebook identifies a Facebook friend in a picture. It also happens when the Facebook user enters the name of a Facebook friend in a post or a comment they make and creates a hyperlink to the personal page of that Facebook friend.

Either way, the result is that a post that the Facebook user puts up on their personal page is also posted to the personal page of anyone “tagged” to that post.

There are pros and cons to this situation.

 

Cons of Being Tagged (and How to Resolve Them)

  • If your Facebook friend not only tagged you, but also tagged a whole bunch of their other Facebook friends, some of those people and/or their Facebook friends are likely to start commenting on the post. Once that happens, you start receiving notifications of these comments on posts in which you have been tagged. And that can be confusing, especially if you have no idea who most of the others on the post could be.
  • As for me, I don’t care to get all these comments from people I don’t know. I have a hard enough time keeping up with the comments on my own posts from the people who I DO know. So, I remove the tag.
  • If you were tagged in a photo, go to the picture, click on options, and choose the remove tag option.
  • If you were tagged in the text or comments, click on the little carat in the top right corner of the post and choose the remove tag option.

 

 

Pros of Being Tagged (and How to Become a Tagger)

  • Many times when I have been tagged by a Facebook friend, it was done as a way to honor me or thank me for something. To me, that’s a good way to use tagging, as, when it happens, the Facebook friends of the person tagged (as well those of the “tagger”)  learn about the positive experience. Most people like getting this kind of recognition.
  • As you are typing your Facebook update, type the @ symbol and then the person’s first and last name, then click on the box that comes up with their photo and name in it. Now they are tagged in your post.

 

 

Approve Tags via Your Privacy Settings

  • You have the option to decide whether someone’s decision to tag you results in that post showing up on your page. It simply requires a setting that gives you the opportunity to look at each suggested post and say yes or no to its appearance on your page before it just goes onto your page.
  • To do this, go to this link and select the option of “Enabled” rather than “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, Founder of Boomers' Social Media Tutor

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.