Social Problems
There is a joke doing the rounds which goes something like: The best thing about being a teen in the 1980s is that we made all our big mistakes before the internet was invented! There is much truth in that.
When your teen tweets or posts a picture to Instagram, he or she probably doesn’t think about how it might aff ect her tomorrow, let alone how it might aff ect her chances of getting a job. The hard truth is, that what we send into cyberspace can be diffi cult to erase.
There have been some recent news stories about young people losing jobs, or not even getting an interview, based solely on what someone from the company has seen on their MySpace or Facebook page.
Many employers now use social media profi ling to screen potential employees. Vetting a candidate’s social media profi les can give employers an insight into someone’s personality, character or work ethic.
If your teen’s profi le is not set to ‘private’ it will be accessible to a potential employer and their content found through search engines like Google. This is true for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It may be unfair and discriminatory but it happens, and even fairly innocuous material might be judged harshly by someone who doesn’t know the person involved.
You can help by getting involved in your child’s social media presence. Become familiar with the tools they use, and off er advice to save them from making mistakes which may be diffi cult to correct. The good news is that you can help your teen clean up their social media sites before they get ready to apply
for jobs. Take an afternoon to go through each social media profi le and delete any inappropriate photos or comments. There are some software products which can help, like SimpleWash, though these generally don’t apply to photos.
So does this mean you should stop your teen from using any social media? Most experts say that this isn’t necessary. In fact a well-handled social media profi le can be very benefi cial. It allows young people to connect with those in the industry they’re trying to break into. By engaging with other professionals they can show that they’re both serious and knowledgeable.
Top Tips for Teens •
• •
Keep just one social media profi le where you post personal information.
• Make sure main profi le photos and cover photos are conservative.
If something is even slightly questionable, do not post it publicly.
Be careful what you ‘like’ or comment on. If the person posting has a public profi le your comment will be visible too.
• Make your public image one you’d be happy to show to anyone, even your great granny.
• Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know, or if you must, then put them on a ‘restricted’ list, but remember that privacy fi lters on social networking sites are subject to change and are not fail-safe. Check fi lters regularly.
The top tip to take away from the experts is to keep your profi le private!
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