Social Networking: A Gift and a Curse

Social networking is something that we'd like to think of as fun-keeping in touch with friends,family and networking. So with all these great qualities happening in social media, where did these social media sites go wrong?

Sites such as Facebook and Twitter are popular among the college generation. Most college students have a social life outside of the classroom. They party, have socials and all-in-all just enjoy having fun. In the midst of all this fun, there's always those few people taking pictures. This could be both a good or a bad thing. It could be a bad thing because, what can be nothing but innocent fun, may end up ruining someone's reputation in a snap of a picture. However, it could be a great thing because if an employer does run across certain pictures and it respresents the employee well, this will show the company that you can have fun and still look presentable at the same time. Meaning, the company won't have to worry about you making them or yourself look back.

Although there's a certain way I believe we should present ourselves to the public, I also believe that those on the outside looking in, shouldn't look in so deeply. How is it that different employers are in such a hurry to find out about our lives, when we know nothing about theirs? Well, it's mainly because companies spend a ton of money to recruit and train emploayees. If companies see that there may be a problem with a employee, most likely these companies won't hire them, which means less money these companies would have to spend.

Even with the whole "privacy setting" on, these sites still aren't fully trusted by their users. Just as someone can hack into your account, I'm sure employers can find ways around the "privacy setting" to gain more information their employees. So in a sense, the little privacy we thought we had just got snatched right from under us.

Social netowrking: What seems to have once been a gift of simple and faster communication just became a curse.