A Note on Social Media

For one of our assignments we had to write a column focusing on some aspect of social media. Here is my column:

"Be careful about what you post online"

With the emergence of social media it is easier than ever to find information on someone. Simply type a person's name into Google and with the push of a button, the link to that person's Facebook page or twitter account appears on the screen.

It is extremely easy to find readily accessible information about other people on the Internet, including information about yourself. By simply typing my name into Google, anyone can gain access to my Facebook page, and Twitter account.

After having it drilled in our brains for the past couple years, we know that potential employers look at websites, such as Facebook, to get general ideas about individuals they consider hiring. As the old cliché goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. A single picture can paint a person in a negative or unprofessional light, severely lowering the chances of that person getting the job, regardless of his/her academic credentials. Employers do not want to hire someone who can possibly taint their business image.

A few of my friends have pictures on Facebook, which could possibly mark them as unprofessional and irresponsible. In one picture, one of my friends is drinking straight from a wine bottle; in another, a group of people at a party are holding beer cans and red plastic SOLO cups. I would suggest taking pictures such as these off the Internet, untagging yourself, or tightening your privacy settings so that only friends can see such photos before future employers and coworkers see them.

Even athletic teams are starting to check on their players, making sure they stay in good standing. In my high school there were two softball players who went to a party one weekend and a few days later pictures of them at the party appeared on MySpace. The pictures were not incriminating in anyway. The girls were simply holding red SOLO cups (usually associated with alcohol) in their hands, which could have contained a plethora of possible beverages including soda or water. However, those girls were suspended from the softball team for potential underage drinking.

Students sometimes forget that everyone in the world can see what is on the Internet. It is not called the “World Wide Web” for nothing. Remembering to set your privacy settings and filtering your photos is extremely important. While your friends may know that you are a good student with an excellent work ethic, a future employer may see a picture of you at a party or with a drink in your hand and assume you are unprofessional.

Not being careful about what you allow others to see on the Internet can potentially hurt your future career and/or may even invite a stalker into your life. Make sure that privacy settings for your pictures, along with your personal information are set so that only friends can see them.

Next time you are putting information on the Internet, take a cue from Hamlet and ask yourself “to post or not to post?”