Do your students comprehend the longevity of social media?

In a recent New York Times article, the ubiquity of company’s searches of job applicants’ on-line images is made crystal clear.

I wonder if my students really understand the consequences, especially in their twenty-something futures, of sexting and looking cool on facebook.

It’s no longer a matter of a prospective employer doing a casual google search on an applicant, but rather more commonly a required signature from the applicant on the job application which allows a search by a professional company of the job seeker’s on-line presence.  The company hired to search such information ferrets what’s legally available to share (nothing about race and religion, for example).

If one is opposed, the assumption is that companies who do such searches as part of their due diligence can simply choose applicants who are willing to approve such a search.

It’s definitely worthy of a classroom discussion on the professional aspects of participating in social media online.

Picture from: http://www.public-domain-image.com/