We live in an era where you can share so many parts of your life the world with the simple press of a button. The one downfall to the wonderful world of web using is that you share every aspect of your life with people you don’t want seeing it. And when it comes time to find jobs or internships, it’s important to know what exactly should be shared and what you should just keep to yourself. Here are a few things to keep in mind when sharing on social media.
1. Profile Picture
Let’s just start from the beginning. The first thing that people see when they search your name is your profile picture. Now, I’m all for pictures that are full of you and your best friends having a good time, but honestly your boss probably won’t. People who are looking to hire you don’t want to have to search through a picture to figure out which one you are. Your profile picture should be a nice close up of you and only you. And even if you have a nice body and want to show it off, the internet is not the place to do it, so please put a shirt on.
2. Edit you pictures
Most people should edit their pictures but I’m not talking about choosing between Valencia and Sierra. Since college is the time to go to bars and party with friends it’s no surprise people want to share their good times with everyone. But there comes a time when it’s no longer okay to post pictures of you drinking and smoking online. No one wants to hire someone who looks like they go out every night. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go out, but for God’s sake, at least make sure your boss doesn’t see it.
3. Watch you mouth
Swearing is something that is overlooked. It is great when used with comedic timing and expressing when your feet hurt really bad. However, it is extremely inappropriate on the internet. It’s also a lot different than cursing in person. There is no way to come back and say that you really said something else. We all know you didn’t mean to say “ducking cool.” Keep the foul language off the internet. It’s unprofessional and doesn’t make you cool.
4. #hashtag
This basically goes hand in hand with watch your mouth. You may not say something crude in your caption or status, but your hashtag will say it all. Also, please stop hash tagging everything in your picture; it’s getting a little excessive.
5. About me section
Over the years, this section has stopped being a place to talk about who you really are and turned more into a place to pretend to be witty and cute. It is also hard to find an actual sentence about people in these sections. Instead, you will normally find random words and emojis like: Coffee snob* Sunshine* God* In love since ’10. To be honest these are aspects of you that no one cares about. Also, no one wants to take advice from a quote you attributed to wrong.
Being able to share your new dog, friends and those shoes you spent way too much money on with everyone is a great privilege. However, limiting what you post is extremely important. Not everyone should be involved in your weekend festivities. You have social media for a reason; please use it responsibly.
