The dos and don’ts of social media according to an etiquette expert, including the three things you must NEVER share

FORGET thinking before you speak, these days it's more about think before you post.

With social media becoming the go-to for announcements of births, deaths and marriages, sometimes it feels like the internet is just a messageboard for all and sundry.

Well, apparently it isn't.

Leading etiquette expert Diane Gottsman from The Protocol School of Texas has outlined the things you must NEVER post on social media - and they mostly focus on spoiling other people's big and precious moments.

Speaking to The Sun Online, she explained that posting anything online about other people's babies - including pregnancy - and being overly eager of posting photos from couple's weddings is strictly off limits.

She said: "For celebrations like weddings, you want to make sure you aren’t posting something the family members would not want to be mentioned publicly.

"People may not be invited because of different situations including spacing issues, cost and family relationships.

"Allow them to post first and follow their lead. Some people want their news mentioned all over social media while other people would prefer to keep it private.

"Some brides and grooms want their wedding to be hashtagged while others want a mobile phone free occasion."

Diane also explained that extreme care needs to be taken when posting about people discovering they are pregnant, plus the news of babies' birth and their names.

She said: "Babies' births are a joyous occasion and new parents generally want to spread the word to all of their friends and family.

"Again, allow them to post the first pictures. You should never post a picture of a child or tag anyone without prior consent.