Ways to share family history through social media

Tips on ways to share family history through social media.

Sharing family history is more important than ever, as people are encouraged to self-isolate stay physically apart during this pandemic. However, just because you are staying safe by staying away from others doesn’t mean you can’t share your family history and family memories with one another. If you want to learn how you can share family history through social media, consider the following tips that will help you and your family share while on lockdown.

Sharing Family History on Lockdown: What Are Your Options?

There are a surprising number of options that will help you share family history while you are staying at home. The options you choose will depend on a few different factors: what you want to share and the number of people who want or need to access the information on a social media account. 

Private Facebook Groups

You can create a private Facebook group for your family so that family history information can be shared and accessed right on Facebook. The benefits of a private group are that only people who have access to the group will be able to see the information, post comments, etc., so you can limit this to family members or other exclusive groups. Another benefit of this option is that it’s likely that most of your family members have a Facebook account, so this is a very accessible social media site. Finally, the Facebook platform is ideal for sharing all types of files and documents—including photos, videos, and even scanned letters—so this is a one-size-fits-all option in terms of what you can share.

Instagram and Twitter 

Instagram and Twitter are both potential social media options that you should consider. Both of these social media platforms have options for private posting, but you cannot limit the content to specific groups. For instance, if you post something on your friends-only Twitter account, all of your Twitter friends—not just family members—will be able to see it. This option is best if you are going to post content that is not sensitive or private, such as your own personal family history photos that you don’t mind sharing with others; conversely, it’s not the best option for sharing personal or private information, particularly if it relates to other family members. 

Other Options

There are a few other options you may want to consider if the above two choices don’t work for your needs. There are other family history related websites, such as ancestry sites, where you can share and upload family history information; and you can also consider creating an online group on a messaging platform such as Skype or LINE, where you can chat with individuals or groups and share photos, links, and so on.

Remember, just because you are in lockdown doesn’t mean that your family history and family memories will need to go undiscussed! Just use the above social media options and you can share family history with your family in a matter of minutes.

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