1. Reveal our personal information
2. Allow stalkers to find us
3. Allow future employers to view our profile
4. Allow future colleges to view our profile
Revealing our information
Growing up, we were all told to never put anything on the Internet that we would not want everyone to see. However, in today's world teenagers and young adults are less concerned with what they are uploading to the Internet because they believe that their privacy settings only allow their friends to view their posts. This is unfortunately not the case. It is actually very easy for information to be revealed or leaked, even with information being set to private. Say a friend has your Facebook page up, all they have to do is right click, copy the picture and do what they will with it. With Facebook's recent upgrade of the "timeline" layout, user's information has been made available to view from years in the past. Within the article titled, Too Much Information , it states that due to the lack of physical interaction a false sense of security is given.
Stalkers
By simply "checking in" to where you are currently at on your social media website this gives stalkers your general where about day to day. For example, using the location setting available of Facebook makes it easier for others to pinpoint your wear about. This has been made easier by the use of smart phones. Through this use of technology it often times gets people in trouble without them having bad intentions. Even though social media sites have age restrictions there is not a fool proof way of ensuring they are who they say they are. A person can decide to act like they are younger or older than they really are and actually cause harm to another through law enforcement. Within the article, Social Media: The Digital You & The Social Stalker , it states that your digital self is essentially your online fingerprints. What a lot of people, including me, do not often think of is a stalker does not have to be someone you do not know. Often times, it is someone that in fact you do know. An example that I read about from the above mentioned article is of an ex boyfriend or girlfriend that continues to check up on you. The lesson to learn here is make sure your "friends" on Facebook are actually your friends. Personally, I know when I was in high school I wanted to have as many Facebook friends as possible. This meant that as long as I had heard of their name or was familiar with them I would accept their friend request. That is what not to do!
Employers
It is suggested that before entering the workforce after college that you clean up your social media websites. Even with private settings employers often times can check your profile online. The article title, Can Having a Social Networking Site Affect Your Job Search? , says that companies try to find a friend of the applicant to view their personal page that way. In this day and age, finding a job is hard enough. Don't do something to lessen the chance of you getting a job interview or the position.
College
Admissions offices often search social media sites for their current applicants to see what their personality is like. Studies show that by doing this up to 38% of the rejections given can contribute to what was found on their website.
Sources
Great post on such an important topic!! I mean just for starters shouldn't you treat social media like tattoos, keep them where judges and mothers can't see them. So many people don't and it baffles me. Why would you ever post something that could potentially have negative implications. If you don't want your mother to see it then don't post it. Then there are the location and check in features on social networks. No one needs to know my whereabouts at all times. That's just creepy and dangerous. Allowing others access to this info ration constantly makes a person very vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement "do not post anything you would not want your mother to see" Karma!
DeletePosting irresponsible material on social networking sites is surprisingly bad for your chances of getting a job!My employer requires a look at every employee's Facebook page before hiring, and will not hire an applicant if they have inappropriate content posted. To me, jeopardizing one's career and academic career by posting irresponsible material on social networking sites is pretty mindless.
ReplyDeleteWow! Society is definitely changing with it being a requirement to look at your Facebook page before hiring.
DeleteWhen you are applying for a job or promotion, I would probably either delete or temporarily remove any social networking accounts if I thought there would be a problem. Another possible solution would be to use an alias or username not easily identified, like on older message boards.
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