So you want to go to college..what's your social media presence?

High School seniors across the country wait for the moment that their acceptance letters comes in the mail or via email.  Being accepted into a college or university of their choice would bring joy to any student.  The feelings of exuberance can and have been replaced with shock and dismay as the acceptance they held so dear is ripped away in an instant.  Why?  Because of social media.  Take a look at the following Video Clip to see what I mean...

The 10 students in the video, not taking heed of the rules of netiquette, payed the price for their poor social media judgement.  Whether you agree with Harvard's decision or not, the fact is that colleges and universities are taking the issue of social media appropriateness seriously.  Admissions officers, as representatives of the school, want to ensure that future students meet the moral standards espoused by the college or university, and that no applicants will mar the reputation of the school with a reckless social media presence.

In another real-world example of social media gone wrong, a student who applied to the University of Rochester posted her application status on her social media.  Representatives from her private school saw the post and realized that she had not requested any transcripts or even mentioned that she was applying to Univ. of Rochester.  Upon investigation it was uncovered that the student lied to the university and told them that she had been homeschooled.  She was subsequently dismissed from the university.  

As with anything in life, students need to understand that actions have consequences.  In the age of social media, where nothing is private and nothing can be truly erased, our comments, opinions and attitudes can be viewed, shared and exposed at any time.  The inappropriate rantings of high school students might have gone unnoticed before social media, but now those same rantings can have huge consequences for a student's future.  Students who practice netiquette will not have to worry that something they posted years before may come back to haunt them in the future.  It is better to err on the side of caution and conduct yourself professionally at all times.

          

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