Social Media: How You're Breaking The Law And Behaving Unethically

In the age of everyone's business going viral to be shared and dissected, SliceofGasant columnist Gasant Abarder is asking for common sense and decency to prevail. And in some cases - where children are involved in posts - you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law by sharing a post. What are social media ethics?

Last week, my kids' school sent out an urgent communication asking parents to be vigilant after a strange man was spotted by a parent taking pictures of kids during school pick up of the foundation phase grades. My kids came home with the news, and it was a big talking point.

We had to remind them about stranger danger and how spreading false stories would just cause mass hysteria. The school responded the very next day by adding more security, arranging regular police patrols in the area and asking parents to collect their children on time or arrange for lifts to be prompt so no children are left lingering around. It came with the caveat for parents to ask their kids not to cry wolf.

The swift and decisive response makes me doubt whether the stranger with the camera will be back. It was important to share. But the tall tales and inaccurate accounts of the man who fled when confronted in the blue Toyota Corolla found its way as far away as my brother-in-law on the West Coast.

It happened in the same week that two other hot talking points emerged on social media. The first was a radio presenter from one of Cape Town's big radio stations being assaulted on a video clip for owing the assaulter money. It was obviously designed to embarrass the well-known radio man.