When you scroll on social media, the negativity radiates through your electronic device. Social media was originally created to close the gap between countries and people oceans away. It was a way to help share experiences to friends and family far away. Today, social media has become a platform for people to voice their frustrations and gain popularity. While our first amendment allows us to write, share and say whatever we want, it is important to remember it never goes away. Rather, the words you write and the things your share on Facebook and any social media never leave, which can be detrimental to you later on.
While searching for a job, many people will tell you to clean up your social media. However, if has already been written it can't be "cleaned up." Throughout this political year, we have seen just how important social media is and how it can lead to the demise of any person.
We read the tweets that President Trump wrote and watched the media condemn him for it. Despite all the apologies in the world, his words can never be erased. We read the slanderous words against Trump's son, and later on listened to the long apology that SNL had to give to the child who remained silent. Although we are not all public figures with millions of people watching our accounts, the things we say can hinder our futures as well.
If a company looks back years from now and feels that your words do not encompass the goals and mission of their company, they have the right not to offer you the job.
That picture that you posted against the Keystone Pipeline may be relatable now, but if the company you are interviewing for hold the largest stock in United States steel, suddenly that picture becomes an issue. It doesn't matter that you shared that post four years ago or that it is your right to be able to do so. And why doesn't it matter? Because there are hundreds of people applying for the same job with the same credentials and possibly no social media accounts.
Social media undoubtedly was created with the best intentions, but lately it has been used as an outlet fueled by hatred. It has created heated debates through computer screens, allowing people to become easily offended. It leaves people to sit there for hours going back and forth, but that is not effective. A debate is told with words that are spoken, and afterwards those words are left there never to be repeated. Social media is no place for a debate.
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have allowed all the skeletons you hold in your closet to remain open to the public forever, The way you feel today, about politics, about friends and about social media will change various times over your life. The person you are today is not the worldly person you will be later in life. Later in life, you will be giving this speech to the people you are interviewing for your company to hire. You will be pleading with these young people to express their thoughts in ways that will not haunt them at any point in their life.
