Has Social Networking Gone Too Far? The Importantance Of Maintaining A Professional Image On Social Networking Sites

With the recent growth of social networking sites such as My Space and Facebook, online self expression has become the latest trend. Many individuals dedicate countless hours, days, and even months trying to create social networking pages that give outsiders a bird’s eye view of their thoughts and personal beliefs. While on one hand, social networking sites can be used to promote a positive cause or professional business, too much of a good thing can be detrimental to one’s career and professional image.

Gone are the days when social networking meant exactly what it stands for. These days, social networking sites can be used to promote professional businesses, organizations, and other causes. Members of these sites have also begun creating pages that contain pornographic pictures and other offensive imaging. If you are 18-20 years old and a member of the, “Girls Gone Wild” group, it may be fun for now, but what about your future? For example, a recent news story describes how a police officer was fired because of offensive imaging on his, My Space page, which consisted of pictures of women being tortured in a satanistic manner. Although, these social networking sites take preventative measures, it is still up to the individual to take responsibility for themselves and the images and content that they post on their webpages. In this particular case, this is especially true because of the type of value system and beliefs, police officers in the local community strive to represent. A police’s professional image plays a huge role in the public’s opinion of that individual and the police department.

The same holds true for other professional companies and organizations. In order to prevent being embarrassed by prospective employees, employers have begun doing background checks on these individuals. Many employers have refused to hire individuals that post offensive pictures and other material on their personal webpages. While some critics disagree, the reasoning is simple: employees are apart of the organization, therefore, employees represent the organization. This not only applies during work hours but after work as well. When an employee working for a major company embarrasses themselves, by disgracing themselves in public, it is also embarrassing for the company or any other organizations that individual is associated with.

How can this be avoided? As an individual, it is always important to remember the importance of a good reputation. It is said, that it takes years to build a good reputation and only moments to ruin it. Credibility and reliability are key aspects of building a good reputation. Understanding the importance of weighing the consequences of our decisions and considering our long term goals is especially important when trying to project a professional image. The solution is simple, when creating personal webpages, think of the consequences that may result from posting images that may be offensive to others. No one wants to lose the opportunity of a life time because of pictures from their spring break in college. Before you post these images consider your future and how others will view you as an individual and a professional.