I
remember when Facebook was in its infancy. Back then it took a verifiable college
e-mail address simply to join. That didn’t last long.
With its
ever-growing access to people’s lives increasing its popularity, soon people
from all generations found themselves a part of something that feels like a
massive social experiment on the boundaries of what people consider private.
The strange thing is that most people fail to see the harm that can be done
when they post something for the consumption of the masses.
I came to
realize this early on, after teaching at a college for over a decade and
watching as the “friends” section of my FB page grew over the years.
Unfettered
access to the lives and happenings of college kids has always amazed me. As I
peruse pictures of scantily clad college bodies imbibing on alcohol and weed, passed
out under a bush, or looking for a fight, I find myself wondering where some of
these people learned lessons about the world around them.
Now don’t
get me wrong, I am not here to profess that any of the aforementioned should stop.
Having played soccer and run track in college, I will be one of the first to
tell you that much of these moments were what made college so memorable. What I
am attempting to understand is how many of these students were never taught to
edit their profiles BEFORE handing in a job application.
With a
search engine geared towards making finding ANYONE an easy task, do people not
realize that one of the first things potential employers do is to look them up
via FB or Google? If the many entertaining conversations I have had with
friends in hiring positions are any indication, I can safely assume that most
college graduates either skipped the lecture or simply didn’t think it could
apply to them.
Believe
me when I tell you that, though some of the things you post may do well in
elevating your social status amongst your friend group, potential employers
peruse these pictures while asking themselves, “what type of person is this
individual?” Believe it or not, the ability to polish off a fifth, take a huge
bong rip, or hook up with a new partner every few weeks is not exactly the type of
person most companies are looking for, at least not a company of quality repute.
If you already happen to be employed, be aware that your
employers are likely keeping an eye on you, especially if you tend to call in
sick often. In fact, you can probably expect to find a pink slip in your
mailbox one day if, instead of being home sick in bed, you choose to head off to the mountains to ski or to the beach to work on your tan, and lack the
common sense to not rave about how awesome it was on your timeline. If your
boss doesn’t see it, chances are good that at least one of your co-workers has
access to your FB feed and, unless you are loved by all, there is a very good
probability your transgression will be brought to the attention of someone in
charge.
Believe
it or not, the world is not as safe and secure as you may believe it to be. In
the real world, there are actually consequences for bad choices.
