Facebook Groups for the SLP Student Part 2

Now that we've covered the reasons for why you should join some Facebook groups, there's one more key item to keep in mind! Can you guess what it might be? ... Social media etiquette! Yes, this might seem slightly boring, perhaps even redundant for those of you who use social media a lot, but I've found that there's a good handful of people who join groups that don't follow the (sometimes) unspoken rules and and regulations. So, without further adieu, here are just a few items to keep in mind when participating in these groups:

You can also check out Part 1 here.

Joining Groups:

- Only join those you're truly interested in. Don't join every SLP group known to man. Are you interested in Autism? Private Practice? Bilingualism? There are groups for all interests! So,  join those you have an interest in so you can meet others in the field and see what issues are pertinent to that little piece of the field.

-Join those meant for students or students and clinicians. It won't be of best interest to join groups meant for families or those who have these conditions. Also, there are some groups for clinicians only. So don't overstep your boundaries by joining those groups just yet.

When Posting or Responding:

- Check to see if your question has been asked. Some questions get recycled every couple of months due to new members joining just to ask this one question. If you search in the group for your keyword you might find an answer! So, try to search on Google or in the group first before reposting a question that might've been asked before.

-Be HIPPA compliant. Also, don't give therapy advice to parents or clients that you have never assessed in person, and especially don't give advice if you aren't yet licensed or competent in that area. Now, that doesn't mean you can't share ideas with other graduate students or clinicians, but just be careful as to how you present your information.

-Try to "Turn on Notifications" rather than responding '.' or 'Following' to keep up with a post. Yes, sometimes you can't do that with the device you are using. Just bear in mind that people ask questions to get answers, not to get notifications for people commenting "." (I've seen some posts with 50 + responses of '...") Turning on notifications is easy, and if your phone doesn't have that option, try writing down the group name and check it later when you get home (or screenshot it to help you remember where it was!).

-Don't use text speech. You want to come off professional; after all, you are still networking in a sense! Plus, your name is on these posts, so other professionals or even your professors might be in that group and see what you're writing!

-Don't have too many cross-posts

-Remember everyone has their own opinions. You might agree to disagree, but do so in a cordial way. Also make sure that if you do use something to back you up, that it's from a reliable source.