Social Media: Your Audience

Social media always seems to be the point of one controversy or another.  None of these services were around until I was already out of the house and in Power School for the Navy; I remember being introduced to each one as they became available to the public and thinking that they were mildly interesting, at best.  To me, they seemed to be a great way to keep in contact with people that you know that you might not live remotely close to anymore.  I have had a few fellow Nukes contact me over Facebook, asking me if I knew of any available jobs, and I have pitched my first job out of the Navy to them; if they were interested, I have forwarded their resumes on to the appropriate supervisors and managers.

Now, social media is huge.  Kids today are growing up with a smartphone in hand, and some are given a Facebook account as soon as they are born.  Because of the popularity of these services, people of all ages are using them now.  As people continue to get connected, they are, of course, going to draw attention from other sources.  Advertisers are buying ad space on social media sites because there are more and more eyeballs there, and now companies and colleges are looking to said sites to vet potential recruits.

Should this be allowed?  That question is being asked more often, and there are some that believe there should be a statute of limitations on who can see what on a given online profile.  Lori Andrews argues that we need to go as far as having an actual Constitution drawn up.

I can see both sides of this argument.  Companies and private colleges are just that:  private.  No one is entitled to a job or enrollment with either establishment, and they have a right to know who they are actually recruiting.  There is really nothing to stop a person from lying on their resume/application, and companies in particular have both a culture and a public image to maintain.  On the other hand, people make bad decisions all the time; this does not make them bad people.  These decisions can often involve what people decide to share online.  People are “at home” when posting things online, and therefore do not always think about who their potential audience might be.

I feel that the easiest solution is to control one’s own profiles.  Having a profile using a one’s actual name and nothing but accomplishments and family connections on the wall might actually assist in getting hired.  If you just have to have a wall full of pictures of yourself setting a record for the most keg stands performed in one night, consider using a different online handle.