Stephen Schumacher
The Signal
Social media has given the world a voice; it has brought us together in ways we could have never imagined. While I will be the first to admit that this is a great thing, more often than not I find myself asking out loud, “Why did they post that?”
I can’t help but notice how many of my friends and family post their entire lives online. My personal Facebook page is a barren wasteland of “hey, how are yous” and happy birthday wishes from long-lost friends and acquaintances.
To me, social media has become somewhat of an online zoo or carnival sideshow. The exhibits are replaced by profiles, each with their own size and personality, designed to showcase the lives of the people who live inside them… Step right up and witness the amazing braless wonder and her gang of misfit sorority sisters!
My Facebook is often littered with interestingly awkward pictures that my friends are seemingly proud to show off to the world. In these pictures my friends can be seen in a number of what I would consider embarrassing situations. People tend to make great faces when they are wasted, so you can always tell. In this new age of social media, notoriety is being substituted for dignity.
I take great enjoyment in the free entertainment my friends so willingly provide. I do worry for them, though. As a student in the last semester of my college career, I have spent a large amount of time preparing for my step out the scholastic door and into the professional job world. I have been asking my friends and family for advice about what to expect regarding those ever intimidating interviews that are just around the corner.
The one thing I have heard from my recently graduated friends is that the things you post online are going to follow you. In fact, many professional companies are even openly requesting your Facebook profiles as a way to find out more about you… A quick message to any young readers out there – the old people are learning to use Google.
A personal friend of mine ran into this problem firsthand when a company he hoped to work for called him in for an interview. About midway through the interview, my friend was asked about his social media habits. He was informed that the company had recently started looking into their employees’ online reputations after an employee was reprimanded for posting inappropriate material that eventually started popping up on the company’s own Facebook page. My friend assured the interviewer that his profile was clean and family friendly. He then excused himself to the restroom where he deleted the page as fast as he could.
Times have certainly changed. In the social media world, privacy is a luxury and it is definitely not guaranteed. A private profile may mean you’ll never become the next Internet sensation, but at least you’ll never have to answer the question “Why did you post that?”
