“A place for friends,” is the famous slogan for the popular website, MySpace, however, there are now questions opposing this phenomena of a website’s safety and credibility as well as other social networks’. There are now worries about who actually does check these pages and what are their different motives?
I recently attended training for the PHAST (Promoting Health And Slamming Tobacco) club. During this day, I went to a lecture about using the internet (mainly social networking) to enhance your club’s performance in society as well as making sure individuals stay safe while doing this. I’ll admit that I know about as much about Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace as my grandparents know. I have never even owned one of these accounts due to my parents concerns about them. In the lecture however, I was informed on different ways to advertise your club and yourself in a positive manner. Although the lecture was based towards PHAST club, I realized that this lecture could apply to anyone whether they use networking for business or recreation. Here are some tips that I learned if you are interested in keeping your professional and recreational life completely separate.
First off, social networking isn’t completely evil. In the news, most of what you hear is the teenager getting stalked through MySpace. However, there are many positive sides of these sites. First off, these sites can be used to promote an event or an idea to basically anyone in the world (there are about 263,000,000 people on MySpace alone). This makes publicizing a lot easier, faster, and cheaper which is why it is becoming more and more popular these days. Social networking is also a way to stay in touch with current and old friends. Many people swear their life to these sites, but social networking does have its own issues, and it is not something to dismiss.
What would you say if you were not hired for your dream job because of those raunchy pictures on your MySpace? Surprised? Don’t be. More and more work places are checking the MySpace profiles of possible future employees. According to Careerbuilder.com, 20% of employers admit to checking the Face book or MySpace profiles of applicants. Also noted was the fact that 24% of employers hired a current worker based on their social network pages. Although this isn’t a publically announced practice, or a regular one at that, there is no guarantee that you social network site will be safe from employers. Your Facebook page might very well be what cost you that one job that you were determined to get.
Suppose you receive a letter from the college that you have been excited for since 9th grade, but it ends up that you won’t be going to this college. Could this possibly have to do with your Facebook or MySpace profile? It very well could be. College planning consultant, Shanon McLaughlin (on careerbuilder.com) stated that 38% of admission officials thought that applicants’ profiles had a negative effect in the admission process. There are only a few percentages of officials that check social networking sites. However, this percentage is growing everyday, and that few percent might affect you. Your page on Facebook could have a negative and unwanted effect on your future.
On the positive side, there is an entirely possible way to prevent your future from being ruined by social networking sites. So while posting a comment of picture, think of this: if you would be embarrassed by having your page, comment or picture on television, don’t post it online. It is really that simple. However, if you accomplish something you are proud of (and your parents are proud of as well) such as making an Honor Society or participating in community service, post that, not your recent partying photos. If you have your heart set on posting things that might not be the most glorifying item in the world, make two separate pages, one for those partying pictures, and the other that sheds light onto your more prideful moments.
Before you discard this article, please remember to be safe and careful online. Social networking is an amazing new up-and-coming piece of technology that should be taken advantage of. It also has its drawbacks and these should be considered when posting anything. So please think before you post.