Facebook gone Wild, how much is too much?

A friend of mine recently posted a derogatory comment about her place of employment on Facebook. She was angry and upset and wasn’t prepared for the backlash that followed.

She was fired the next day effective immediately.

One in five employers admit they monitor current and potential employees Facebook sites (http://www.smk.net.au/article/australian-employers-screening-with-social-media)

Dr Jane Johnston, expert on social media and Facebook, agrees that employers are doing thorough online searches of potential employees, but states that Facebook is just the tip of the iceberg:

“Employers are now checking more than just Facebook. Full Google searches are now commonplace and Facebook is just part of this.”

It’s things like this that should prompt people to ask; how much exposure through social media is too much?

Dr Johnston knows the ease in which private information becomes public:

“It’s more a matter of quality than quantity. Social media has bridged the gap between public and private communication so while much of what is posted on social media may be intended as personal/private communication, it’s important to consider that it has the potential to be made public.”

Failbook is a site that gives you a million reasons why you should be careful what you post on Facebook.

Everything you put on Facebook is immediately accessible to the public sphere. Sure there are privacy settings, but as the aforementioned website proves, people end up seeing it anyway.

This is why people should ask themselves how much is too much.

Marcus Higgins, 21-year-old University of Technology student says:

“I wouldn’t post intimate details about my personal life. People change their relationship status every few weeks, which just screams look at me. It just makes everyone aware of peoples relationship problems which is completely unnecessary for social media.”

Eleni Helliotis 19-year-old Macquarie University student has a different opinion:

“I just use Facebook as a source to vent and gage other peoples opinions on my personal life. Usually if someone has a problem with what I’m posting then I just say mind your own business, if you don’t like it don’t read it.”

So fellow Facebookers, next time you go to put up that photo of yourself naked and drunk in an alley somewhere just stop and think. Ask yourselves, who is going to see this? Will it effect me long term?

Facebook is a great way to express yourself, but let’s not sacrifice long term prospects for 15 minutes in the limelight.