Privacy, schmivracy... Comm 460

I started using social media when I was in middle school. When you grow up with something it sees your good, bad and your ugly. And I mean ugly. No one warned me back then that posting selfies and updates about what I was doing would later turn into a digital record of my most awkward stage in life. Like the common saying goes with food, "once on the lips, forever on the hips", the same idea can be applied to your social media presence. Once on your feed, forever saved in digital "space".

When I began college I remember being warned that future employers would be stalking my Facebook profile one day. Be careful what you post they said, it will come back to haunt you they said. I never paid much mind to it because I figured that when the time came to get a job I would just delete everything that may make me look "bad". But as i've recently learned, even when you think you have deleted something, like a tweet for example, it is still floating around somewhere in that digital "space" and if someone really wants to find it, they can. The lack of privacy is daunting and I hope that someday there will be greater regulation of our internet presences's privacy.

However, while our internet privacy is still a huge issue I feel that one thing must be said to the employers. The "guidelines" for what companies consider a poor trait of an employee based on their internet presence need to be loosened up a bit. I understand the intolerance towards ignorance when it comes to potential employees making racial, sexist, or homophobic remarks; that is not acceptable. But I plead employers to realize that just because someone may drink or occasionally use "colorful" language, that doesn't make that person any less qualified for a job, or any less of a person. People are human, we can't expect everyone to live an ideal, plain, square-ish life. Personally, I am not a heavy drinker by any means, but most, if not all, of my friends are and I can honestly say that all of them have an amazing work ethic. It is okay to drink and have fun, you can still be an outstanding employee if you live an exciting life. So I plead that employers understand that and stop trying to scare everyone into being boring with the threat that if they aren't they won't get a job.

With that being said, I still think it wise for people to be cautious of what they post, if not for fear of future employers, but for yourselves. Posting things about sex, illegal drug use, and rants about something bad that happened to you is not wise. Do you want to have that on record someday for your children to see? For you to see again? Sit on a thought before making it public information. It's not only bad for your reputation, but rants, for example, are not healthy for your mind. Don't allow yourself to get worked up about something so simple as traffic, or slow walkers, or the annoyingly loud phone talker sitting next to you. The more annoyed you allow yourself to be over something that small, the more annoying it becomes.

Always remember to think twice, respect yourself and others, and most of all keep your social media presence fun, light & positive!