Many people don’t realize or want to admit it, but using and deciding what to put on social media takes a lot of thinking.

What you post online basically is the first impression for the people you have yet to meet.

Our society is so technologically savvy that everything we do over the media defines the type of person we are, although many may wish this was not the case.

Even the littlest things like the pictures you post, the length of time in your responses to a text or a Snapchat, or even the use of certain punctuation is said to provide insight on who you are as a person.

I would argue that people jump to false conclusions based on what they do over social media, though.

If you really think about it, social media is only a small snapshot of a person’s entire world.

There is the oh so common reference to an iceberg when talking about how much strangers know about another person. Above the water, the iceberg already appears to be large, but there is much more to the iceberg that cant be seen.

By looking at other’s pictures and statuses online, you only see and understand about 30% of their entire lives.

The pictures and statuses posted online solely show the highlights of an individual’s life.

At least with all of the people that I know, no one would ever post something online that made them look bad to the public. If this is the case, then why are we so quick to judge on social media?

But I think, everyone is guilty of this. It is in our nature, as twenty first century humans, to use social media to “understand” another person.

The information on others is so easily accessible, that it is almost impossible not to use a Facebook profile to “stalk” someone else. I have seen this come up most often in senior’s search for college roommates.

As prospective students post in the Facebook group, everyone jumps to their profiles to determine whether or not they’d be a good match.

It’s hard for me to understand though, how you could figure out compatibility solely on appearance and a few messages.

Beyond the world of Facebook, Snapchat and even texting cause false accusations.

From personal experience, I’ve learned that if someone avoids the use of exclamation marks, they are not considered to be enthusiastic.

I have also heard people say that someone comes off desperate if they respond to Snapchats too quickly.

When in reality, someone may not be using aggressive punctuation because it just is not necessary, and they may just be on their phone at the exact moment that a Snapchat is sent to them.

People look too deeply into the meaning of the littlest things in text messages and Snapchats just because it is so difficult to pinpoint another person’s true intention when a conversation is not face to face.

With technology growing, it may be difficult to limit making first impressions and false assumptions on others based on their behavior online.

It is important though to realize that someone’s virtual life does not entirely reflect their real life.