Have you ever had your parent or teacher tell you, “Hey be careful what you post on the Internet because it’s there for the whole world to see.”? Well we should all listen to them, especially today when potential employers and schools are searching our names online when reviewing our applications. I’m sure we have all heard this before that you need to be weary of what you post online, whether it comes from friends, teachers, or even Dr. Phil. I recently read an article about how social networking sites are being viewed by admissions officers (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-facebook-college-20-sep20,0,2460681.story). The article by Emma Graves Fitzsimmons and Bonnie Miller Rubin, “Social-networking sites viewed by admissions officers. Survey shows some use Facebook, MySpace as another aspect to college application,” tells the reader that a lot of schools today are using these sites to check up on potential incoming students. Some admissions officers took a new survey about whether or not they visit these social networking sites. Fitzsimmons and Rubin point out, “High schoolers say getting into college is no longer only about sky-high test scores and impressive extracurricular activities. Now it means being smart about their online personas as well.”
A new survey was conducted by Kaplan Inc., an education services company which showed that 10% of admissions officers from prestigious schools admitted to searching sites like Facebook and Myspace to evaluate their potential incoming freshman class. Of the people who participated in the survey, 38% said the sites had a “negative impact” on the applicant. Some said they went as far as to repeal an offer because of what they saw on the applicant’s page. Many schools such as Notre Dame state that they don’t go out of there way to use these sites as resources but if something comes there way they can’t ignore it. On the other hand there are other schools such as Northwestern, which state that what these kids do in their personal life is up to them. They feel searching them online is an invasion of their privacy.
Even though some employers and schools may choose not to “invade your privacy,” I still feel like it’s a good idea, just to be on the safe side, to keep your social networking site as appropriate as possible. You never know who is looking at your site, and you don’t want someone to think less of you because of something they read or saw on your site; which may have nothing to do with the person you really are. Computer Mediated Communication has really taken off over the past few years and I am positive that it will continue to grow but it is very important that we use our best judgment with what we put out into the World Wide Web about ourselves. Just as Jeff Olson suggests, who heads research for Kaplan's test preparation division, “Today's application is not just what you send . . . but whatever they can Google about you."
4 comments:
I had no idea that schools were now using this to research future students. As I’m applying for grad schools I wonder if programs such as that are doing the same. I wonder if schools have to ability like some businesses to view accounts that are usually blocked. I do agree that it can somewhat benefit the schools, but if an account is blocked I feel they could be invading future students privacy.
It kindof makes me said that CMC has taken over our lives this much. We can't even enjoy some social networking with our friends without being worried about who will see certain things. Once I realized that professors were starting to get facebook, I immediately made my profile on private. I don't have anything to hide from them, but I feel like my personal life has nothing to do with my academics and they should stay out!
I think people are taking it a bit too far! A person's social life outside of work & school has nothing to do with how productive they may be. I feel that if you feel compelled to go that extra mile to find out about someone then something is wrong with maybe the interview process or the institutions standards. I don't know, I just don't think it's necessary. As I always say, there's a separation between work and play and these people are bringing them together! Good thing I don't use my real name on my profile!
I actually just had a conversation with my mom about employment and social networking. Her company recently hired a new employee and she told me that they checked out his facebook page before they hired him. Also, when I was interviewed for SWAT they asked a question about the appropriateness of my own facebook page. Its really a wake up call. People have the opportunity to judge you before they have ever laid eyes on you. It makes me want to delete one or two things off of my own page to be honest.
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