Like. Retweet. Comment. Favorite. Delete. These are some of the buttons we click the most on social media. Everyday we scroll through our Facebook and Twitter newsfeed and stalk the pictures our friends uploaded from the weekend, read the dramatic tweets of someone who uses Twitter to constantly complain about how their life is over, and rewatch the Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball music video.
I’m sure we’ve all had those moments where upon scrolling through Facebook our jaw drops when we see inappropriate pictures that someone posted and we can’t help but wonder why they thought it was a good idea to upload them. While there is a helpful little delete button to “erase” something you once posted, nothing stays in the little trashcan forever. The biggest mistake high school and college students can make is not accepting that fact that once something is posted online, it is there forever. You may think that you can go back and delete an inappropriate picture or tweet weeks after posting it but it is out there in cyberspace and future schools and employers are out there finding them.
During college most students don’t think twice about uploading the 50+ pictures they take over the weekend. While you might love the picture you took with your best girlfriends from tailgate, if you are all under 21 (or even 21 for that matter) and you’re all chugging a Lime-A-Rita it definitely isn’t Facebook appropriate. Even though you have your privacy settings set so no can see your stuff except for your friends, any future employer will find what they are looking for. Central Michigan Univeristy Junior, Mackenzie Frasso, interned at Domino’s Pizza Headquarters this past summer and worked on the recruitment team for the company. “Whenever we received an application the first thing we did was look them up on social media. We checked their Facebook and Twitter accounts and if any inappropriate material was found we did not proceed with that candidate.” Thousands of college students are being turned away each year for internships and jobs because of material found on their social media pages. While social media can be a positive influence it can also be dangerous. Just a friendly reminder, be careful what you post, what you say, and what other people tag you in. Posts from years in the past can have a vital impact on your future employment options. Go through your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages and if you don’t like the person that you see in your pictures think twice next time before you press the post button.