For seniors in high school, the entire year revolves around the Common Application. They’re constantly editing college essays, updating applications and regularly refreshing their emails for news of acceptances. We’ve all been there — those are a few months of stress.
There’s another part to the application process, however, that isn’t as public or as close to the surface as the Common Application. Students have always questioned and shrugged off a college’s interest in their social media accounts, but a recent segment from WBUR revealed that 35 to 50 percent of college admissions officers will view an applicant’s social media profiles. For those of us who have posted pictures with our friends and the occasional red Solo cup in the background or vented about a past professor or employer in a status, this is concerning.
Though some colleges have claimed that social media profiles provide more insight into a potential student’s personality, admissions offices shouldn’t use accounts to judge their worthiness to attend the respective university. Students have gone so far to hide their online footprint that the concept of “senior names” has become increasingly popular. Colleges shouldn’t expect a student’s Facebook or Instagram, intended as creative and nonprofessional outlets, to be the best possible representation of who they are. Admissions offices want a better understanding of you as a person, but social media is practically the fakest representation of a personality. A student’s true self isn’t expressed by their so-called artsy pictures on Instagram or retweets of memes. Plus, who would trust the judgement of fourteen to sixteen-year-olds to present themselves in a professional manner? Frankly, there are better uses of an admissions officer’s job.
Nevertheless, students and young professionals alike should be aware of what they’re posting on social media. Maybe a college isn’t looking at Facebook profiles, but a future employer could. Online footprints last forever, so everyone should be conscious about what they’re posting. Individuals are liable for their own status updates, pictures and posts, so you should acknowledge and accept what it could mean for your reputation before you click enter. Putting content out there inevitably opens up opportunity for criticism from friends, family or even strangers. A controversial or offensive post could impact the rest of your life. This is a concept that didn’t exist 15 years ago. Our age group is at a disadvantage because we’re the first to deal with negative consequences of social media accounts.
A job interview is a one-time attempt to show your best self. You dress up, bring a resume and create a professional persona. Social media accounts are a full-time, never ending representation of who we are. We can’t let them slide by or out of our minds because we forget that they can be constantly monitored.
The caution used before applying to colleges should not dissipate once a student is enrolled. In fact, it becomes even more essential. Companies should have the opportunity to view profiles, as a Twitter or Instagram profile could be extremely pertinent to a certain kind of job. Future journalists should be aware that their Twitter accounts will most likely be monitored by potential employees in the same way that artists should expect potential clients to view art on their Instagram prior to hiring them. College is the right time to recognize you’re not a kid anymore and must present yourself accordingly. It’s time to shape up your profiles and shine the best light on yourself. Companies would be peering around for red flags, not red Solo cups.
