A new poll, conducted by Common Sense Media, suggests that teens are complete idiots when it comes to comporting themselves online. A whopping 13 percent of teens have posted online nude or semi-nude photos of themselves or someone they know. And then some 25 percent of teens have posted something online that they later regretted. You know, drunk photos and the like.
Now, when you’re still a freshman in college no one particularly cares that you drank two beers during an up-all-night Rock Band party, but come senior year? Yeah, all those photos of you running around campus wearing nothing but Scooby Doo underpants while doing so many lines of coke may come back to haunt you when you’re looking for a job. You see, when you send in your resume to COMPANY, odds are the human resources department is going to be combing through your online presence. Racist tweets? Oops! Incriminating Facebook photos? Yikes!
Young people need to keep in mind that what they post on the Internet will always be there. Oh, sure, you can delete the photo, but probably not before interested parties have already hit Print Screen and ricocheted it around the Web.
Of course, it’s not all bad news, per se. Keep a reasonably accurate Facebook profile, and prospective employers can say, “Man, look at this kid. Seems like he’s got a good head on his shoulders. Let’s get him in here for an interview.” Or maybe you’re moving into an apartment and don’t know a damn thing about one of the roommates—oh, he likes “baseball” and “rock music,” too? Great, we’ll be the best of friends.
Of course, all of this assumes that teens still even use Facebook, which seems to be less certain these days.
I’m calling misleading title on this one. The “…or semi-nude…” segment is probably very significant, especially when you consider the barely-covered pictures one sees on Facebook/Flickr on a regular basis.
i just did a survey.
78% of teens think it’s funny to lie on surveys
What was your sample size?
it took 2.7 seconds…
I agree with the content, but I could care less that my photo is now plastered in the internet. I have much worse available on my website, which also has my resume and portfolio. If a company is not going to hire me because of a photo like that then I would rather not work for them.
One of my responsibilities at a coop job was to restock the company fridge that was always full of Sleeman Cream Ale, Sleeman Honey Brown, and Alexander Keith’s beer. I also wrote hardcore software. Good times.
My point: Don’t work for a bunch of a$$holes.
13%? i heard it was much higher, but good i guess.
http://baba-h.blogspot.com/2009/03/facebook-vs-cv.html
i did this post on MONDAY, MARCH 30, 2009
thank Gawd the national travesty of teens lying on surveys has been exposed!!!