Is there any person in today’s active society that hasn’t heard about Facebook? This social networking website is the topic of many conversations and controversies. The fact is that Facebook is a cultural phenomenon that has changed and progressed into something used in societies’ everyday routine. The website currently has more than 400 million active users (people who have logged onto their account in the past 30 days) and was only founded as recently as February 2004. Personal information, pictures, statuses, and more can be posted on the website. Many teens post things that may not be appropriate for their parents, teachers, coaches and other authority figures to see. Is today’s youth abusing the privilege of Facebook by naively making private information public? Not only are social networking sites such as Facebook potentially limiting the opportunities an individual has in their future, but also that individual may not know how it is even affecting them.
Some employers are now using Facebook to get a general description of their potential new employee. This brings up the question of whether Facebook is a fair judgement on a persons’ character, and whether it’s morally right to discriminate a potential employee based on what is written or seen on their Facebook wall. Dave Grant, owner of the Grant Insurance Agency in Defiance, Ohio made the statement that “Facebook should be taken into consideration [when hiring an employee] because it’s a public website that anyone can access and it can possibly tell us about the person’s character and even work ethic”. He also went on to express his feelings about the safety factor of Facebook and how kids are vulnerable when they post private information and pictures.
The question of Facebook when dealing with job opportunities is a touchy subject. Many people have mixed opinions on whether it’s fair to not hire a person because of a picture of them on the internet that displays drinking. Not only can Facebook limit opportunities and allow kids to put themselves in vulnerable situations, but it is also a site for the new generation of bullying, called cyber bullying. Aubrie Mayson, a third year Early Childhood Education Major at the University of South Carolina, met up with me to discuss her opinions about Facebook and how it has affected her: “When applying for any jobs or internships I always make sure to change my name and hide my pictures from the public on Facebook. I’ve heard that employers look on the website for any bad pictures that may misrepresent their company. It’s not like I go around taking pictures of every bad thing I do, but I’m also afraid that one bad picture could cost me a good job opportunity in this already bad economy”. Kids changing their names on Facebook have become more and more popular. Most delete their last name and only keep their first and middle name. But this also can have a negative outcome for youth who don’t take internet privacy seriously. Supplying the public with private information such as a middle name has the potential to be dangerous.
Bob Morton, the Defiance High School principal in Defiance, Ohio expressed his opinion on Facebook, “I look at my potential new staffs’ Facebook profile if they have one. I think it’s a fair judgement on character and you often can find habits and traits of a person that may impact hiring. Not all jobs require a Facebook background check though”. When asked about the effects of cyber-bullying in his high school, Morton said, “I often have kids print off proof of the things a bully has said to them on Facebook and depending on how serious the threat or bullying is, the punishment for that individual can stem anywhere from a warning to expulsion”. Many adults have joined the Facebook world but they adjust their privacy settings so it’s almost impossible for anyone to find them unless they want to be found. If high school kids and all other youth were as concerned about their privacy and safety as most adults, Facebook could have the potential to be harmless.
Facebook is a great social networking tool, but many young individuals abuse their privilege to make information public without knowing it can bring harm to them. The website is a great tool to keep in touch with old friends, but the young users abuse it by displaying bad pictures, bullying others, and share information with strangers. Facebook is a fair judge of a person’s character; if that person has graduated high school. Any person below that age naively uses Facebook and doesn’t realize the potential harm and limited opportunities they are bringing upon themselves.
