Long gone are the days when Facebook was a virtual playground for tweens and teens to share their overly edited photos and song lyric statuses. You can no longer moonlight as an unknown blogger or rest easy that your co-workers won't find that unsightly photo you were tagged in. As the years go on, the relationship between our online lives and the ones we lead in real life gets blurry. Are they completely separate identities? Is one a highlight reel of the other? How can we decipher the truth and gain a clear image of people, or ourselves?
As a college student applying for internships and jobs, I'm often wary of what I post online. I don't believe I post anything remotely inappropriate or risqué; rather I've grown uncomfortable with the fact that employers can see, for the most part, a majority of my life. I am an open book. I don't have much to hide. But do I want my next boss looking at every mushy post, #TBT or cute animal video that I share? None of which are bad- but will I be passed up over someone whose profile is full of academic articles and NPR links?
While we - employers and employees, professionals and amateurs alike - try to walk this fine line that social media has newly construed, it's important that you learn to own your social media. Be proud of what you post. Be confident of what you share. And most importantly - own up to it if it receives some backlash.
Millenials grew up with social media. I thought nothing of it when I decided to make a "bucket list" blog in middle school, or a running blog back in 2010 or (dare I say it) a YouTube channel freshman year of high school. The only people who could possibly know how to find those were my friends. And I loved their feedback, likes and comments.
But now I have more eyes on me. New college peers, professors and bosses. I'll never forget when I went to declare my major and the department chair, whom I've never met before, said he loved my blog. And my life flashed before my eyes. Did he mean my middle school blog? Or the running one that is actually still active? Did he see my silly post-workout selfies? Oh god, the middle school one though!
With a quick Google search we can find an entire person's history, as mismatched as it may be. Just hit "enter" and you have their vacation photos, last employer, Turkey Trot 5k time and high school reunion information. While I had nothing to really be ashamed of during that meeting with my (now) advisor, it did open my mind up to how I looked online, versus real life.
Since then I've cleaned up my Facebook profile of my middle school edit albums (nearly 400 photos- how did I even do that?), deleted that YouTube page after my boyfriend had one too many good laughs and revamped my running blog to present it as an asset to my portfolio and make clear what is my own content, and what isn't.
We shouldn't be ashamed of our social media. We shouldn't put up a front to just get that job, score that interview or impress that special someone. However, we shouldn't let a single misjudged post ruin our dreams or aspirations. Don't be the girl tweeting every five seconds, divulging insecurities and harsh subtweets around the clock. Don't put pictures of you clearly inebriated on a Friday night (download Snapchat if that's something you really need to show off to your friends). Be true to yourself, but don't forget your future in the process.
